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.
kristin
this recipe is brilliant! i made half a recipe, and it turned out 200 mini-meringue kisses. so delicious and crispy and perfectly sweet!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Kristin! 🙂
Jenna
Did you change the cooking time since they were smaller? If so, how long did you cook your’s for? 🙂 I’m wanting to make mine smaller as well.
D.J. Satterfield
How big in diameter do you make the meringues? Thanks.
Sam
Hi DJ! Mine were about 1.2-2 inches in diameter. 🙂
Suzanne
Is there a substitute for the tartar?
Sam
Hi Suzanne! Some people have said they have made it without it. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out.
noel
used these as a base for my orange meringues! I’ve had luck cooking them at a higher temperature for less time to achieve a softer interior!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the meringues, Noel! 🙂
branwen
I’ve made these for years make sure your tools, mixer and attachments are very clean and dry. You don’t need the crime of tartar I make them all the time and never use it.
Anika
Can I use a substitute for parchment?
Sam
Try aluminum foil. I wouldn’t bake the cookies directly onto a baking sheet because I’d worry they might stick, but if you bake them on foil you’ll be able to peel/pop them off.
Tracy
Hi Sam, your meringues look so glossy and amazing – I’m just about to give them a go!
But I’m just wondering how long they will keep in the airtight container for once they’re done? I want to make some for Easter but have a lot of other baking to do that week so I’m wondering how far in advance I’ll be able to make them to save me some time. Thank you! 🙂
Sam
Hi Tracy! I have seen some people say they can last up to two weeks in an air tight container at room temperature. I personally wouldn’t keep them much longer than a week. I would be worried the texture would start to degrade after that. Hope that helps! 🙂
Tracy
Perfect, thank you so much Sam! Meringues turned out beautifully, thank you so much for sharing your recipe and helpful tips too. I’ll definitely be serving them up for Easter dessert dipped in chocolate. x
Maria
Would it work to fold in a berry jam before piping?
Sam
So I haven’t tried this but you run the risk of deflating your meringue if you do this. I’ve seen other recipes where a small (like 1 Tbsp) amount of jam is folded into 1/2 cup of the meringue mixture (after it’s reached stiff peaks and is ready to pipe) and then that is folded gently into the remaining meringue. That’s probably the best way to go about incorporating jam. I hope that helps!
Susan
Love love this recipe!!! I’ve added mini chocolate chips…. boy oh boy!!
Thanks!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the meringues, Susan! 🙂
Jess
Looks like an awesome recipe, thank you! Can’t wait to try it! Do you know if it’s also possible to make them with a softer interior instead of all crunch?
Sam
Hi Jess, you could bake for less time. Enjoy! 🙂
Musa Nicholas Dibal
thanks a lot. i appreciate it
Trudy
Can I use a sugar substitute like Splenda instead of sugar?
Sam
Hi Trudy! I have not tried it. I know there are recipes out there that call for splenda and not sugar. I am not sure how the substitution would work here.
Larry
How about using swerve rather than sugar?
Sam
Hi Larry! Unfortunately I have not tried these with a sugar substitute, so I am not sure how they would turn out.
Marti
First time I made them. Delicious!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them Marti! 🙂
Musa Nicholas
Hey Sam, I tried this recipe and it turned out great. Thanks a lot😊.
But I don’t know if you have any I dead on countering it’s sweetness,
My folks don’t really like the sugar to be so much. Thanks😀
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies, Musa! Unfortunately, these are a sweet cookie so I don’t have an idea to reduce the sweetness of them.
Andrea
It works with half the amount of sugar.