Even though the holidays are over and we are starting to get back into the swing of things, you can still enjoy some holiday treats.

A personal favorite of mine, meringue is typically a rare dessert, but most definitely a popular one.  For instance, I recently made meringue for a cookie swap and got rave reviews.  Also, the cool part is, with meringue, it is possible to add a festive twist.

Now, I won’t say that this dessert is exactly quick to make, but it is easy.  Think, what’s in meringue?  It’s essentially egg whites and sugar with a couple extra ingredients (salt and cream of tartar).  All these ingredients should be in your house, so that will save you a trip to the store.

• Preheat your oven to 225 degrees.  
• Get a medium sized mixing bowl and put in two egg whites:  
• Add ⅛ teaspoon of salt and ⅛ teaspoon of cream of tartar into the bowl.
• With an electric beater, beat the mixture on the highest speed until it is white and smooth: 
• Gradually add a half cup of sugar into the mixture as you continue to beat:  

Now, if you decide you’ve all of a sudden become too lazy to make your meringue and wait for them to cook, it honestly wouldn’t be a bad idea to grab a spoon and just have at it (be weary of salmonella, of course).  I kid you not, it tastes like marshmallow fluff.

HOWEVER, if you aren’t lazy and actually want to finish what you started, here’s what you do next.  Line two baking sheets with tin foil and spoon teaspoons of the meringue onto the sheets (about 12 spoonfuls per sheet).  To add that festive twist I promised, crush up a candy cane and sprinkle it on top of the dollups.  This will give a nice peppermint taste to your already delicious dessert.  Now you’re ready to bake.

Put the trays in the oven for 1 ½ hours, check them periodically in the last 15 minutes in order to ensure that they do not brown.  When they are finished, turn the oven off and open the door ajar to let them cool.  Then, take the sheets out of the oven and gently peel the meringue off the foil.  At this point you are officially done and are guaranteed to have a delicious post-holiday snack to share with your friends.