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.
Ramya Rajadurai
Great recipe! I got lazy and tried a different simpler one but didn’t like the results and came crawling back here 😉
Quick question: mine are sticky after they dry, even after a bit of extra time in the oven after turning it off. Any advice?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Ramya! I’m so happy you returned to try my recipe for Meringue cookies. If the meringues are coming out of the oven sticky, you might lower the temperature slightly and extend the drying time (to avoid browning)–they should feel quite dry and very light coming out of the oven. Once they cool off, store them in an air tight container. I hope that this helps! 🙂
Leie
You could also make a key lime pie, and dress it with your meringue cookies.
Sugar Spun Run
What a great idea, Leie! 🙂
Leie
I made these last night and they came out beautifully, even though I didn’t get the sugar quite completely dissolved. I’d never made meringues before, but I’ve made plenty of angel food cake. I was very pleased with this recipe, though I worried they might be chewy as I live in Florida and it’s been very humid recently; but I didn’t have any real problem. Thanks for a fantastic recipe!!
Sam
Thank you so much, Leie! I am so glad you enjoyed the meringue cookies! 🙂
Tegan
Do You have any recipes for using the left over egg yolks Because I need some ideas and I love your recipes they look so cool have not tried any yet but I hope I will soon
Sam
Hi Tegan! You could use them to make my pound cake, or even my chocolate pie. 🙂
Ezra
Looks fun!!!
Taleisha
I’m 13 years old and I love to cook and I’m good at it, I make my friends birthday cakes from scratch. But I’ve only ever tried to make a meringue once this is my second time trying with your recipe it never works out for me they always turn gold n brown when I take them out after and hour of setting. I don’t open the oven but they still manage to go flat. What am I doing wrong? I’d doubt it’s the humidity cause it’s not really humid here. It’s not the temperature of the oven cause I made 2 batters one one 225F and the other on 140F both didn’t work. I’m not posting hate because u are an amazing cook and I love your recipes.
Sam
Hi Taleisha! I am so sorry this is happening. If you are piping them a little smaller they may turn a little brown, or if you put them on a higher rack than the center. As for why they are flattening, is it possible there was any egg yolk that got into the bowl? Or if they batter was over-mixed they could also deflate. Meringues are very very tricky. I’d love for you to give it another shot and let me know how it goes. You can do it! 🙂
Yip Fu Hui
Hi. What is the diameter of each meringue that I have to pipe out? Thanks
Sam
They are probably about 1.5-2 inches in width. 🙂
Sarah
Before I make this recipe, I do want to confirm one thing. This recipe doesn’t need pasteurized egg whites right? I would assume it would be fine because the meringues are cooked.
Sam
Hi Sarah! You do not need to use pasteurized egg whites here. 🙂
Stacia Jackson
I’ve tried this recipe twice and they both turned brown before the one hour mark. What am I doing wrong?
Sam
Hi Stacia! I would guess either your oven is running hotter than it is letting on or if you are piping the meringues very very small that could also do it.
Naya Brown
I am 12 years old and love to bake. I have been using this recipe for the past month, and I love it so much! My family and I demolish the cookies in an hour or so. They are so good! I live in Avery humid place, but have not experienced any faults with the turn out of my cookies. I would totally recommend making these cookies any time of the year!!!
🤗😁😀
Sam
Thank you so much, Naya! I am so glad you enjoy the meringue cookies so much. 🙂
Laura
First time doing meringue cookies and the best meringues i’ve ever tried!! So yummy and easy to make!
Sam
Thank you so much, Laura! I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Julia
Made these today – very impressed with the quality. Excellent recipe! I have a gas oven and know that my bottom rack cooks faster than my top rack, so 1/2 way through I swapped the trays. Other than that, I stuck with the recipe 100%. Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the meringues, Julia! 🙂
Sarah
Oh my god! These meringues are DELICIOUS!! I just took them out of the oven and they melted in my mouth! I would say that next time I would use a bit less sugar ‘cause I found it a bit too sweet for me but overall, it was simple, easy, and delicious!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the meringue cookies, Sarah! 🙂
Oscar
I’ve made this recipe twice before, and they’ve been DELICIOUS both times, but I have had a problem with the baking time. Both times I’ve had to bake them in the oven for a while longer after checking on them after the two hours of cooling in the oven; they stayed chewy. Am I piping them too large? I don’t remember how many cookies resulted each time, but I think it may have been more than 40, so I don’t think that size would have been the issue. I do live in Florida, though, so maybe the inescapable humidity is what’s causing them to require a longer baking time? Any thoughts/suggestions? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Oscar! Unfortunately the humidity is the problem here. 🙁
Oscar
Darn. Could a longer baking time resolve this issue? If so, how much extra time would you suggest?
Sam
A longer baking time could help. Ultimately the humidity will get to them, but if they lose their crispness, you can stick them back in the oven. I have notes on that in the post. 🙂
Nikki
I tried replacing the vanilla with melted chocolate which was a total fail I think it was to heavy to whip in thoughts or suggestions on how to make a chocolate flavoured meringue cookie?
Sam
Hi Nikki! I actually have a chocolate meringue recipe. 🙂
Brianna
Hello! Im 13 years old and love to bake. Today I tried this recipe and absolutely loved it! It melts in your mouth and is all in all delicious. Although they dont have a great smell at all! My sister didn’t want to eat it because of the smell it had. Once she did eat it, it was delicious though, is there anything I did wrong or how I can fix it next time? Thanks! 🙂
Sam
Hi Brianna! That’s really weird. What do they smell like?
Arlene
That’s strange. Meringues don’t usually have an off putting smell. I’m assuming either she particularly isn’t fond of the smell of baked egg whites or the eggs you used were old and started to develop a rotten egg smell. Try using fresh bought eggs next time.
Kathryn
My husband got me a stand mixer, and my first new recipe I tried was these cookies. They’re a HUGE hit and were gone in 2 days. I can’t wait to try these with different flavors and such!
Sam
Yay! I’m honored you used my meringue recipe to break in your new mixer! Thank you for commenting, Kathryn, and I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the cookies. Have fun with that new stand mixer, I can’t live without mine!
Natalie
I had stiff peaks and very slowly added the sugar but when I put it in the piping tubes it didn’t keep the pattern at all. Any ideas why?
Sam
Hi Natalie! I’m so sorry that happened. Meringue cookies can be very tricky. A few things may have happened, the batter may have been over mixed, there could have been too much humidity in the room, or even if you somehow got a little moisture in the bowl, that would also cause problems. I hope this helps. 🙂