A classic recipe for meringue cookies! These little meringues only call for 5 ingredients, and at under 25 calories a pop they are easily the lightest recipe on my blog! The technique takes a little bit of practice, and a long time in the oven, but I’ll walk you through the steps in the recipe so that you can make your own perfect meringues!
Sweet & Simple Meringue Cookies
I have another recipe for your holiday cookie tray today — classic meringue cookies!
Meringues only require 5 ingredients to make, but they can be a little bit finicky — even the weather can affect them. Winter is a great time to try them out, as you’re much less likely to have a very humid day this time of year, and humidity is one of the greatest nemesis of meringue cookies.
I’ve been making this recipe over and over again the past few months to make sure that I understood all of the ins and outs of making perfect meringue cookies, and I’m finally ready to share what I’ve learned with you, so that you too can make these addictive little meringue cookies.
If you’ve never had one, meringues are light, airy cookies with crisp interiors. I’m sharing a classic vanilla meringue recipe today (with notes on how to add your own different flavors!). The taste always reminds me of marshmallow 😍.
Making Meringue: Stiff Peaks
This recipe calls for four egg whites and a single cup of sugar. That may not seem like it’s going to yield you very many meringues when you start, but you’ll be surprised by how much these ingredients increase in volume.
As you add the sugar, the mixture will become thick, glossy, and sticky, that’s exactly what you are looking for! You’ll also want the mixture to achieve stiff peaks — that’s how you’ll know that it’s done.
If you’ve made my angel food cake, whipped cream, or Swiss meringue buttercream before, then you’re already familiar with the concept of stiff peaks. It means that when you turn the batter over (like you can see in the image below with the meringue cookie batter), the peak that forms stands tall and does not fold back into itself. I’ve included a video in today’s post so you can see exactly how the meringue should look, in case you haven’t ever made meringue before.
Tips for No-Fail Meringue Cookies
- Make sure that the bowl and beater that you are using to beat your meringue is completely grease and moisture free. Any moisture can ruin your meringues.
- Crack your eggs in a separate bowl when separating the whites. Even a tiny bit of yolk can ruin your meringues, so crack each egg in a small bowl before adding it to the bowl that you will be mixing the meringue batter in.
- Add the sugar gradually, one Tablespoon at a time, and give it a chance to dissolve before adding more.
- You can test that the sugar is completely absorbed by taking a small bit of the batter and rubbing it between your fingers — if it’s not, it’ll feel gritty.
- Don’t stop until you get stiff peaks. The batter will take several minutes, at least, of beating to achieve stiff peaks, but keep going. It will increase in volume and be very thick and glossy — that’s what you’re looking for! See the photo above or the video for a visual.
- Don’t over-beat your batter, either! Once you hit stiff peaks, stop! You can stir in your extract and any food coloring at this point, but don’t push it because over-beating the batter is just as bad as not beating it enough.
- If you’ve found that your meringues have gotten soft after you finished baking them, you can actually pop them back in the oven at 225F for another 10-20 minutes (watch them, if they begin to turn golden brown around the edges turn off the heat immediately) and then let them cool in the oven for another hour, this has always worked for me with meringues that start to get chewy.
Adding Color and Other Flavoring
Once you get the hang of making meringues, feel free to play with lots of different flavors and colors — I made these Peppermint Bark Meringues by adding ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract, striping the piping bag with red food coloring (I used a clean paintbrush that I only use for baking), and dipping the baked, cooled meringue cookies in dark chocolate and crushed peppermint pieces!
Enjoy!
More Christmas Treats You Might Like:
Meringue Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites room temperature
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract¹
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 225F (105C) and line a large cookie sheet (or two regular-sized cookie sheets -- make sure they will fit in your oven together) with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a large, completely clean, completely grease-free bowl².4 large egg whites, ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer (with either the whisk or paddle attachment), stir on low speed until mixture becomes foamy.
- Increase speed to high.
- With mixer on high, gradually add sugar, about 1 Tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition until sugar is dissolved (about 15-20 seconds between each addition).1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- Beat until mixture is thick, shiny, and has increased in volume. Mixture should have stiff peaks and sugar should be completely dissolved (you can test this by rubbing a small bit of the mixture between your fingers, if it feels gritty, the sugar isn't dissolved).
- Stir in vanilla extract and any other extract you may like to use. If using food coloring, add the food coloring at this stage, too.1 teaspoon vanilla extract¹
- Fit a large disposable piping bag with a large tip (I used Ateco 846, but any large star tip will work or you can just snip the edge of the piping bag for a “kiss” formation) and transfer meringue to prepared piping bag and pipe onto prepared cookie sheet. The meringue cookies can be pretty close to each other as they won’t spread, and you will want to bake all of the cookies at the same time, so make sure you make enough space.
- Bake on 225F (105C) for 1 hour. Turn off the oven once the baking time has passed, and do not open the oven. Leave the oven door closed and allow cookies to cool completely in the oven (1-2 hours) before removing.
- Meringue cookies should be crisp and can be stored in an airtight container. Keep away from heat and moisture as it can soften your meringues.
Notes
Recipes to use those leftover egg yolks:
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
shampoo
awsome make it every sunday
erfwerf
owsome
Jamie Lynn Way
If I pipe they larger, bigger than the kisses, should they bake longer?
can’t wait to try them.
thank you
Sam Merritt
Hi Jamie! They will take longer to bake if made larger. 🙂 I hope you love them! 🙂
Ann
Any tips on filling a pastry bag with meringue? I had a gigantic mess trying to do that step!
Sam Merritt
Hi Ann! It can be quite tricky! I have a tall plastic cup that fits a piping bag well. I will put the bag in the cup, fold the top edges over the cup, scoop up the meringue with a spatula, and try to shake it off the spatula to get it in the bag. If that all makes sense. If you have a spare set of hands available they could hold the bag open for you. I hope that helps a little bit. 🙂
Ann
Thanks for the tips! I will try them next time. The cookies I did get piped turned out great!
Betsy
Hello I want to bake two big pans at once, can I use my convection oven so it cooks evenly?
Sam Merritt
Hi Betsy! A convection oven will require adjustments and without having done it I can’t say for sure exactly how to do it.
Marie
Hi Sam!,
I’m hoping to make these today but I was wondering, if I wanted to add holiday sprinkles to decorate them, at which point should I do that so they stick to the meringues???
Thank you!
Sam Merritt
Hi Marie! It’s going to be tough to get them to stick. If I want to add sprinkles I will typically drizzle the meringues with chocolate, or dip them in chocolate and then put the sprinkles on the chocolate. 🙂
Ava
Hi! I was wondering if I could flavor these with Maple syrup. And if so, how much?
Sam Merritt
Hi Ava! I haven’t personally tried it, but I would be worried about the egg whites not whipping properly if you add maple syrup. 🙁
Caroly Brown
maple extract would be a great solution to get the flavour that you’re looking for !
Ava
Thank so much for answering. I baked them without the maple syrup and they were great.😊❤️
Paul
How long will these stay fresh in an air tight container?
Sam Merritt
Hi Paul! These cookies will stay fresh for about 2 weeks stored in an airtight container at room temperature. If any softening occurs, I have instructions in the post on how to make them crisp again. 🙂
Eleanor Bradley
I❤️❤️these!
Barbara Kettler
Easy! Amazing! Beautiful on a party tray!
Alanna
Very easy and tasty! Great tutorial. My meringues were crisp but tacky, even after cooling down for three hours in the oven. Is this normal? Thanks for your help!
Sam Merritt
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Alanna! Is it humid where you are? I have some instructions for re-heating them in the post if they are still a little bit tacky. 🙂
Alanna
Yes! I live on the west coast of Canada and the rainy season is upon us. I followed your advice in the recipe regarding tackiness, and it worked! I must have missed that bit of info when I read the recipe. Thanks for your help.
Sam Merritt
I’m glad you were able to salvage them! 🙂
petal
super good! not usually a merengue fan but these were great
Lilly
These were absolutely amazing. I have made these twice now. The first time, I spent forever trying to dissolve the sugar. But the second time I pulsed the sugar in the blender first. They taste great!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you like them, Lilly! Enjoy 🙂
Summer
Fantastic recipe! I made these with my 7 year old daughter and let her do all of the mixing part. So easy and soooo yummy! I even used the carton liquid egg whites and had no issues at all with it whipping up and baking. we made a double recipe and made two large baking sheets full of swirl kisses and two circular wreaths to making a baking show style dessert. Bake time was perfect for both.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad it worked so nicely for you, Summer! 🩷