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.
Diane
I’ve Made meringue with maple syrup instead of sugar in the past. Will that work for this cookie recipe?
Sam
Hi Diane! I’m honestly not sure exactly how this recipe would need to be changed to have success with maple syrup. Maybe someone who has tried this can chime in?
Sandi
I make these every Christmas to give to family and friends. I add chocolate morsels and chopped pecans! Drop by teaspoonfuls, on parchment paper, and bake for 5 min, @ 350 degrees, …then turn off the oven, and leave overnight in oven to “dry”. So good, you can’t eat just one!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the meringue cookies, Sandi! They are too good just to have one! 🙂
Laura
Hi… I made these yesterday I’ve never made meringue before they came out exactly as you described. However my family say they are so sweet they can’t eat them ?😒. Is there anyway to taper down sweetness?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Laura! I am glad that your meringue cookies turned out so well. If they are too sweet, you can test cutting back some of the sugar but I am not certain how they will turn out. They are a sweet cookie. 🙂
Ashley S.
Hi – This is my first time reviewing a recipe! It was great! I make these every year for Christmas like my Grandma did. She didn’t pipe them, just dropped them by the spoonful. Then what really made them special was the colorful tiny ball sprinkles. Following in her footsteps, that is how I make them. I just follow random recipes every year. This year I got more raving reviews and that they were made with extra love. Will save your recipe for next Christmas. Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
Oh, Ashley! I love this story and am so happy that the meringue cookies were such a hit! Thank you for sharing and for taking a moment to leave a review, I appreciate it! Merry Christmas to you! 🙂
Suzyblue
Yes. You can add in cocoa powder. 2 tbsp.
Sam
I have a chocolate meringue cookie if you would like to try that 🙂
Juanita Martus
How-do-you-do the version shown of dipping the meringues in chocolate?
Sam
Hi Juanita! If you check the paragraph right below the picture of the dipped meringues it tells you how to go about dipping the meringues and flavoring them if you so choose. You will just want to melt some chocolate and dip the meringue in. 🙂
Margaret DelColle
I’ve made these before but not enough times to be relaxed about it… Well here I am again. Added red food coloring to the mix. They turned out perfect. A lovely pink! I think I need to make these more often and then it will become second nature to me. Because they are incredible! 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the meringue cookies, Margaret! Thanks for trying my recipe! 🙂
Rogene Quinton
I’ve Never before made Meringue Cookies and my 1st time they turned out Awesome! Thank-you for the recipe!! It was easy to follow and worked out perfectly!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that they worked out perfectly, Rogene! Enjoy! 🙂
Tracy
Delicious!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the meringue cookies, Tracy! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Lydia Grace
Hi,
I have used this recipe multiple times and each batch came out perfectly, thank you 🙂
However, as a note to new bakers, never put your meringue batter in the fridge for long periods of time. After storing my batter in the fridge, it was soft and would not become stiff again, ruining the entire batch.
Any idea why this happened?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Lydia! I am so glad that you enjoyed the meringue cookies. When you store the batter in the fridge you need to make sure that it is stored either in an airtight container or wrapped really well not letting any air into the mixture. If you were unable to make it stiff again most likely air got into the batter. Thanks for trying my recipe. 🙂
Laura
Just made these and they came out perfect! Thank you.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the meringue cookies, Laura! 🙂
J.Y.
Hi!
Can you add in cocoa powder? Or is there another way to make chocolate meringue cookies?
How much of the ingredient should I add in and when?
Hindi
I add 24 ounces of chocolate chips to the above recipe and the resulting cookies are delicious, full of chocolate goodness and giving a bit of a firm bite to the cookie. The chips do make the cookies just a bit more crumbly, but delicious. If you didn’t want them with so much chocolate, just cut down on the quantity of chips. I get lots of compliments from these and have been making them for years and my mom made them all through my childhood.
J.Y.
Thank you, but I’m looking for a cocoa type of cookie! I’m just not sure if it’s okay to add cocoa powder. If it’s not, I’ll definitely use your tip! It sounds good both ways 🙂
Cay
Or add a Hershey kiss and hide it in a peppermint meringue!
K
… I left my meringues in the oven to cool for too long and they got soft, because of the condensation in my oven. Is there any way to rescue these poor babies..? 😅
Sam
I’d turn the oven back on (225F) and cook another 10-20 minutes until they’re no longer soft. That should do the trick!
Jesse
Hi Sam,
Just made these as double the batch (had extra whites from other cookie recipes) and they are another AWESOME hit of yours! Thanks so much for the helpful tips. My mistake was having so much and having to wait (not a Dr. so I don’t have “Patients”…LOL 😂 But they are a great addition to my Xmas cookie tray!!! Thanks again and hope you are enjoying motherhood!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the meringue cookies, Jesse, and they are a nice addition to your cookie tray. Happy Holidays to you! 🙂
Mary Perez
Crushed candy canes are a good add-in too! The crushed candy gives that peppermint flavor without being overwhelming.
Sugar Spun Run
Yes, absolutely, Mary! 🙂
Sheila Mertes
Andes mint chocolate or white peppermint bark is fantastic add in!
Judith Saarinen
Can I fold in chocolate chips into the batter?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Judith! Yes, you can! I hope that you enjoy the chocolate chip meringue cookies. 🙂
Crystal Clay
Is it better to use mini chocolate chips instead of bigger ones
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Crystal! Either would work, but I prefer the miniature ones. 🙂