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.
Ivy Lim
Hi,
Can the recipe excludes tartar cream?
Sam
Hi Ivy! Some people have said they like to use lemon juice instead of the cream of tartar but I have not personally tried this.
Angel
Hi 🙂 I want to make this recipe to make decorations for my carrot cake. Can I halve this recipe?
Sam
Hi Angel! That will work just fine. 🙂
Katie
I usually make my meringues with a candied mixture on the stove and later add it. I was surprised when yours turned out okay.
Brooklyn
This recipe blew me away! These little cookies were everything and more, especially because I was a bit worried about how finicky they could be. We also added colouring, and they turned out wonderful, noting that we just used a plastic bag for piping too. I was so impressed with them, and even though we planned to use them as decoration on a cake, they all got eaten before we could! Which is always a sign that they’re delicious. I would 100% make these treats again, and they would be so cute as class birthday treats or a fun addition to any lunchbox. I couldn’t get over the cuteness of each little dollop and they would definitely brighten anyones day. Thank you for this recipe! I am in love with them!
Sam
Ah I am so happy to hear they were such a hit, Brooklyn!! Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know how they turned out for you, I appreciate it. 🙂
Vanessa
Hi my husband made ice cream the other day and now I have 7 egg whites in a bowl and I’m hoping to make these cookies. What should I adjust (if anything) given the extra egg white?
Sam
Hi Vanessa! This recipe calls for 4 egg whites, so if you wanted to use 7 I would increase the rest of the ingredients by 75%. Enjoy!
Sophia
These Were So Good! We ate them all in 1 day!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Sophia!! 🙂
Lisa Woods
Amazing. I made these with no sugar. I used 1/2 cup granulated monkfruit instead. Then I took unsweetened bakers chocolate after they were cooled and dipped 1/2 the cookie in that. Delicious
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies so much, Lisa! I love dipping mine in some chocolate. 🙂
Charis
Tried these with lemon extract – delicious!!
Sam
So glad you enjoyed, Charis! Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Alicia
This recepie was fantastic.Every thing was perfect we made this specially.Love the receipe.😃😃😃😇
Sam
So happy to hear this, Alicia! Thank you so much for commenting, I appreciate it! 🙂
Alicia
Kong Mong this was a great recipe.
Danica
What speed did you use for the meringues on your stand mixer?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Danica! I would start at medium-low (3 on a KitchenAid). Once cream of tartar is added, whip a little longer. Then raise the speed (6 on a KA) and watch your meringue take shape. Raise it again (8 on KA) until soft peaks form. 🙂
Kelly
Can i use brown sugar?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Kelly! Yes, you can! I hope that you enjoy them. 🙂
Tiffany
Hi! I’m planning on making this pretty soon, but I just want to know if anyone could give me a measurement of the egg whites in grams? I’ve noticed a lot of times that when I bake, it’s less likely for me to mess up when I’m measuring out things by weight, so if someone could tell me approximately how much in grams you’d use in your 4 egg whites, I’d appreciate it! Thanks for the recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Tiffany! Each egg white will be different depending on the size of the egg but it should be approximately 120g (30g per egg white). I hope that helps! 🙂
Jasmine
Hello,
Is there any way I can decrease the amount of sugar or will it affect the way the meringues turn out?
Eba
Hi
The lowest my oven goes to is 170 C and i really want to bake some
what should i do ?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Eba! You can try the overnight or forgotten cookie method. To do this you will preheat your oven to 350F (177C). You will place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and turn the oven off. Leave the cookies (undisturbed) in the oven for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, or until cookies are crisp and dry. I have not tried this method myself, but others have and had success. Keep me posted on how they turn out. 🙂