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.
Mary
Great recipe. I sprinkled cocoa powder on top before baking. I make meringues because I can satisfy my sweet tooth without eating a lot of calories, but the calorie count per cookie you provide doesn’t make sense based on the total calorie count of the ingredients. 1 cup sugar = 774 calories, 4 egg whites = 70 calories, other ingredients add maybe another 30. So 874 calories in the ingredients divided by 80 cookies = 11 calories per cookie, not 21. Am I missing something?
Sam
Hi Mary! I am so glad you enjoy the cookies so much! I typically use a calorie calculator so there’s a chance it could be slightly off. I’ll have to look into it. 🙂
Nicole
1st attempt: I added the sugar too quickly, which I found out was the problem after googling. I followed the recipe for this so 15-20 seconds between additions of sugar is not long enough.
2nd attempt: carefully followed recipe again, this time waiting at least a minute between spoonfuls of sugar (checking for grittiness at each stage instead of just at the end like the recipe implies). When I got to adding the extract, it deflated my meringue and no amount of whipping would bring it back to stiff peaks.
Sam
Hi Nicole! 15-20 seconds works perfectly for me, but if your mixer was slower or a different brand it may have taken longer, which is why I list an approximation. If you’re mixing on high speed, it should not have taken much longer than 20 seconds, though.
If you mixed on high-speed for a full minute after each spoonful then I honestly think what happened is you mixed far too much and over-beat the egg whites, which is why they deflated once you added the vanilla, unfortunately. You don’t need to check for grittiness after each addition, just at the end, so that wasn’t a typo or a mistake.
Another possibility could be if you added a much greater amount of extract than is indicated in the recipe at the end and it was oil based then that could also make your meringue deflate, but it honestly sounds like it was just beaten much too much, unfortunately. It might be helpful to watch the video.
Shelley
Definitely going to try this recipe! I followed another one on YouTube which required icing sugar instead and I couldn’t get it to stiff peaks. They turn out ok but cracked in the oven 🙁
Just wondering if it’s ok to half the recipe? Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
I am excited for you to try this recipe too, Shelley! Yes, you can half the recipe. Keep me posted on how they turn out! 🙂
Stella Kim
I really wanted to try this recipe so I personally bought all the ingredients but was disappointed when the cookies turned out brown. They weren’t burnt and they still tasted very good but I didn’t get the result I was expecting.
Sam
Hi Stella! I am so sorry this happened. 🙁 It sounds like they may have been over-baked a little bit unfortunately. 🙁
Fatima
Hi Sam,
I made these for the very first time and they came out perfect! Thank you for your easy to follow step by step video and directions. Next time I will not be hesitant to experiment with flavors.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Fatima! 🙂
Alexa Freudenberg
Making these to use as decoration on a cake, I’m trying to decide how many days in advance I can make these and they’ll still be good? Any suggestions?
Sam
Hi Alexa! These store pretty well in an air tight container for about a week or so. If they do get chewy or get any moisture to them, you can follow the instructions in the post for making them nice and crisp again. 🙂
Brandy Mullins
This is a simple easy recipe, and it tastes great too! I used Chocolate Coffee Syrup at the end to make the chocolate flavor just 2 tsp.
Sugar Spun Run
I am glad that you enjoyed the recipe and created your own chocolate meringue with success. Thanks for commenting, Brandy! 🙂
Aice
Hello! Can I use confectioner sugar instead?
Sam
Unfortunately I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure, but if you try it out would you let me know how it works for you?
Zenith
I didn’t work out right.
Sam
Hi Zenith! Would you care to elaborate? I may be able to help. Meanwhile it might be helpful to watch the how-to video 🙂
Alisha
Mine didn’t come out right but they taste delicious
Sam
What was wrong with them? I may be able to help trouble shoot here. 🙂
anonymous
Hi! I doubled your recipe and I have a lot of uncooked meringue batter should I put it in the fridge and pipe some more in a few hours? Or will it deflate in the fridge?
Sam
I think it could hold in the refrigerator in a sealed container for about 24 hours, but I haven’t tried it so I’m not quite sure how it would turn out.
Shivani Singh
Hi Sam,
Used this recipe to make meringues to be crushed into a raspberry Eton mess. Turned out fantastic- crisp on the outside, squidgey on the inside. Perfect, 10/10
Sam
Wonderful! I”m so glad it was a success! I do have an Eton Mess recipe, too if you ever want to try that one 🙂
Addi
This was the first time I tried making meringues after quite a few disastrous attempts. They came out tasting really nice but had browned slightly on the top. Maybe I had left them in the oven too long…
There wasn’t much sugar in it as well, which was a surprise since most meringues I’ve had are very sweet.
Over all, it was a really good recipe and I’ll definitely try it again!
Angeline
Where I’m from, we don’t have cream of tar tar. Do you think that meringues are still possible without them?
Sam
Others have reported making the cookies without cream of tartar. 🙂
Anonymous
Wow Sam I really like these meringues.
I have made with a different recipe but they were too drippy so i used yours. I dont like vanilla but honey meringue. They are delicious and so pretty.
THANK YOU!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Kelsey
I substituted lemon juice for the cream of tartar
Cody
I tried this recipe for piping practice (I used to decorate cakes at the store I used to work at, but that was a long time ago), because I figured if they turned out ugly do to my piping skills, they would still be edible and I could experiment with my different tips. The recipe is great, but I want to offer a few words of advice, especially to the novice cooks/bakers out there because meringues can be difficult:
1) Almond extract/flavouring is traditional, but since meringues are kind of bland w/o flavourings you can use practically any kind you want. Keep in mind some extracts (especially natural/organic vanilla) has a tendency to discolour things to the brown side, so make sure your extracts are mixed in first before you colour.
2) I recommend using gel food colours as they have less moisture than liquid colours so they are less likely to destabilize the meringue. (Gel colours should be used sparingly as they are more powerful than liquid colours.) If you only have liquid colours, don’t feel like you have to go out and buy gel colours, just go slow and use as little as possible, meringues colour easy so you’ll need less than you think.
3) Most importantly-Prepare a bigger piping bag than you think you need. Meringues (and other whipped foods) grow exponentially as air is incorporated, and you will have more than you expect. What I used was a gallon bag that secures with a twist tie (just because these are a lot cheaper than zip top bags), and prepared it like I would a piping bag for the style of tips I have, clipping the end off with a bag clip so I didn’t have to worry about any escaping.
4) Have fun piping! You can pipe any shape you want and change to any tip you want. I used a small star tip and did the “whip topping” swirl.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Cody! Thanks for the tips. 🙂
Stacy
Hi, these look easy enough and delicious. How long will these keep? I’m thinking about making these for a birthday in September. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Stacy! They should last about a week in an air tight container. If they get a little chewy, make sure to follow the steps in the post to make them nice and crispy again. 🙂
Gabi
Could double this recipe or am I best to do it in 2 batches?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Gabi! You can easily double this recipe, however, I have found that it is best to do it in 2 batches as it is easier to whip up. 🙂
Talya
This was my first time making meringue and they were absolutely incredible. Can’t get over how amazing they were! I added some crushed up dried strawberries to the top of some of them and it was incredible. This recipe makes crispy yet perfectly chewy meringues and I will absolutely be keeping this recipe for the future!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Talya! I love the sound of the strawberry topping. 🙂