These light and airy meringue snow peaks are a great beginner meringue. I top mine with peppermint and dip them in chocolate for a little extra something. Perfect for the holidays!
Make sure eggs are room temperature and then separate out the whites from the yolks carefully. Work with one egg at a time and then transfer the whites to the larger bowl just to make sure you get no yolk in the mix. One drop of yolk will ruin this dish.
Add the egg whites to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or use a hand mixer to beat the egg whites until they start to stiffen. Then add the tartar and continue to mix on medium for 1-2 minutes.
Slowly add in the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat the eggs on medium until they are very stiff and hold their shape completely.
Scoop meringue mixture into a piping bag with a large tip and pipe the meringue into little snow peaks on a few baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake meringues at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour.
While meringues dry out in the hot oven, add candy canes to a plastic bag and crush well.
When meringues come out of oven, immediately dust with crushed candy so it lightly sticks to the meringues. Then let the meringues cool completely which will take at least 30 minutes.
Once the meringues are cooled, dip in melted, but not hot, chocolate and return to parchment paper to dry further.
Once chocolate sets, store the meringues in an airtight container at room temperature (not in fridge).