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.
Denise
I wanted to make these in advanc. If I make them two days before will they still be crisp and fresh if I seal them in bags???
Sam
Hi Denise! Yes, they should be just fine, just be sure to let them cool completely before putting them in the bags and keep them away from moisture. This is how I store my meringues and I never have a problem.
Jim E.
Have some in the oven after having made ice cream with 6 egg yolks; I’m too frugal to throw away the whites. Used vanilla, rum, and coconut extract – my pina colada version.
Jan
Can these be frozen to save for later?
Matt
I made this using powdered sugar instead of granulated due to availability of ingredients, turned out wayyyy fluffier than with the granulated and cook in less time
Drew
I tried this recipe and they turned out quite well. The only thing I was unsure of was what size they ought to be (golf ball, Oreo? 2”, 3”?), because I think if I piped them larger, there might be more of that billowy, marshmallowy goodness inside! Any recommendation?
Catherine
Excellent recipe, added 1/2 tablespoon of Penney’s Natural High Fat Cocoa powder and wow the chocolate flavor really popped. The meringues were crisp on the outside and crunch on inside with a dissolve in your mouth explosion of flavor.
Hailey Steele
These are DELICIOUS!!!!! I tried the recipe out and it worked perfectly! I avidentally forgot the last egg white but it turned out pefect anyways. So i think you would be fine with only three egg whites. I died them pastel blue as well. They are SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD. I will definetly be making this recipe again.
Lolita Wike
I make these all the time since I have 12 chickens. I use cream of tartar or lemon juice. I always put a tad of cornstarch in them. They always work. I am waiting for my piping bag to arrive. I am now spooning all of the meringue into a gallon zip lock bag and cutting off a corner. I love the idea of dipping them into chocolate for the grandchildren. I have a batch in the oven right now. I used the convection setting and turn the oven off after an hour.
Rich
Do you know the weight of egg whites, I’ll be using duck eggs and want to know if I need to change ratio.
Lisa
I am going to start experimenting with these before a themed birthday party, is there a better kind of food coloring? Liquid or gel? Thanks in advance!
Sam
I recommend gel, it’s much more vibrant and a little goes a long way 🙂
Annie
I’m making German Chocolate cake for a friend, so I know I’m going to have a ton of egg whites leftover. I’m going to try your recipe, but I was wondering if I could run a little seedless jam on the inside of the pipping bag (for a fun color & taste) before putting in the meringue or if that’ll ruin the meringue cookies?
Sam
Ooh, I would worry that the moisture from the jam would ruin the meringue, sorry Annie! 🙁
Rebecca
Making these now using maple extract and walnuts!!
Tammie
I made these using tagatose (a rare sugar) and dusted them with cocoa. They were a hit. My hubby, who I made them for, is diabetic and he loved them. You can’t tell that I did not use table sugar.
None of your Business
How many Cookies does this make?
Samantha
I have just made my batch to this recipe and I replaced cream of tartar ( I didn’t have any) with lemon juice (fresh lemon) and it came out perfectly
Sam
I’m so glad to hear they came out so well! Thank you for commenting, Samantha!
Mikaru86
Those look amazing. I’ve wanted to try this style of “cookie” for a while now, so this recipe comes at the perfect time. Is the cream of tartar necessary or just added for taste? I’ve never seen it around here and would like to try it without.
Sam
Cream of tartar is a great stabilizer (so not just for taste here) and while I definitely do recommend it, plenty of recipes for meringue cookies do not call for it. I think you would be OK without it, but please let me know how it works out if you do leave it out in case others want to try without, I always appreciate your feedback!! 😊
theresa
I’m on Keto diet. Do you think it would work using granulated sugar substitute like Swerve?
Sam
Yes, I think that would work! However if I recall correctly, Swerve is much sweeter than sugar so you may have to cut down on the sweetener.
Mikaru86
Ok, I’ll try it without and see how well it turns out. You will know whether it worked in the feedback mail XD
Mikaru86
Spoiler: It did not work. But I don’t think it was caused by the lack of cream of tartar.
More details when I get around to sitting down and putting the mail together.
Sam
Oh no! They can be really finicky, I’m looking forward to checking out the e-mail!
Elbert
Sugar is important for the crystallization process. It won’t get the rigidity it needs without the sugar crystallizing.
Anne Hayden-Ray
My recipe starts with 1/4 tsp of Cr. of Tarter and after finishing beating to stiff peaks, it calls for beating in 1tsp. lemon juice and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and then fold in 2 1/2 tsp corn starch. It says both Cream of Tartar, lemon juice & corn starch are all stabilizers but the corn starch also helps create the soft inner texture.
Kiley
What if I wanted to make chocolate meringue cookies how much cocoa powder do I add?
Sam
I actually have made them chocolate before and shared the recipe right here on my friend Alyssa’s site, if you want to check this out: https://therecipecritic.com/chocolate-meringue-cookies/
I like the chocolate even better than the regular! 🙂
Bonnie Warnock
I made these using half the amount of sugar.
Also made a batch using the amount called for in the recipe.
I liked the ones using less sugar the best.
Sugar has a lot of calories. What not save when you can?
Sam
Glad to hear that you enjoyed them! I don’t recommend cutting the sugar but I am glad that it worked for you! 🙂
Carol
LOok in your spice section of your local grocery store