After my humiliating defeat in the world off egg whites last week, I knew I had to pull myself together and remind myself (and all of you) that I do know how to do this.

I’ve been making these so long, I decided it’s okay to change the name. In the beginning, they were supposed to be snowflakes or wreaths, and let’s just say my piping skills weren’t quite developed yet. But stars. Stars I could do. One plop. Hard to screw up.

I was hoping the same could be said for these. Fingers crossed!

Meringue Stars

• 4 egg whites
• 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 t. almod extract
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t. cream of tartar
• sanding sugar

1. Cover baking sheets with parchment/wax paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add powdered sugar, almond extract, cinnamon, and cream of tartar; beat until very stiff.
3. Spoon meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a start tip. Plop stars on to wax/parchment paper. Decorate with sanding sugar
4. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Yeah, that’s the way meringue is supposed to be.

My pride is restored.

The best and most surprising part of this recipe is the cinnamon. It’s subtle, and sets it apart from the rest of the Christmas cookies on the platter. Shout out to Penzey’s Spices, btw. I love that place.

After filling the pastry bag, start plopping away. You can really make any shape you like, but like I said earlier, I found stars to be the most simple. I broke out my gold sanding sugar and had the Christmas cookies looking pretty darn festive.

When they are dry, put them in an airtight container and hide them from your kids. These are my kids’ favorites!