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.
Jamie
Mine are in the oven on the cooling stage and they look and turned out great I think! Plus this recipe makes a ton of cookies, I should have made them bigger or something. Thanks for the easy instructions and tips!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jamie! 🙂
Jane
Try folding in some Nestle Mini chocolate chips before baking. Gives just a hint of chocolate. Friends always want more.
Arrow
They were amazing.Best I’ve ever had.I baked them for my family.They said I NEED to make them again.(:
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Confused Baker
This is my first time making meringue. I don’t have a stand mixer, so I used a hand mixer. I followed the directions, and added the sugar little by little. But about halfway through the sugar adding, the meringue started deflating instead of volumizing. It was also very grainy, and the sugar wouldn’t dissolve. Now I finished whipping it up and it’s not smooth at all, you can see the sugar texture. It’s also small than it was earlier. Should I still put it in the oven? What did I do wrong?
Sam
Hmmm is it at all possible any moisture got in with the sugar? I’m not sure they will turn out if you bake them. 🙁
Confused baker
I did bake them. They turned out very interesting. Shockingly light, like stirofoam. Looked like macaroons, with the glossy top. Tasted pretty good. Interesting experiment if you want to try it and mess it up on purpose.
Jennifer
Hi! These are in the oven as I type this — looking forward to the results :+)
How long would you estimate these will keep in an airtight container?
Thanks!
Jennifer
PS — “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.”
….. Does that mean storing in the fridge in an airtight container is the best option?
Sam
Hi Jennifer! They should keep for about a week at room temperature. I wouldn’t store them in the refrigerator.
Sarah
Hi, your recipe is really delicious. I tried it last night and it’s crispy and yummy. However, my cookies puffed out a little bit while baking in the oven for 1 hour, is that normal? They shrunk back to their normal size while cooling down in the oven but they had cracks, not big ones but small ones. It’s not smooth like when I first put it in the oven. Can you help me please? Thank you.
Sam
Hi Sarah! Usually meringues crack and shrink as you’ve described if they cool too rapidly, could that have happened?
Camille
I love this recipe. it’s so easy and simple. Although because I am 12 I get very impatient.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Camille! 🙂
Darla Baliko
How many minutes does it take to whip the eggs whites and sugar in order for all the sugar to dissolve? And is it possible to whip them for too long?
Sam
Hi Darla! It really depends on your mixer. It takes several minutes for mine to whip up and yes you can over whip them.
Abee
Hi, pls what’s a substitute for cream of tartar
Sam
Hi Abee! Some people use lemon juice. You need 1/2 teaspoon for every egg white so I would use 2 teaspoons of lemon juice here. 🙂
Lamesha
Hey how much do the egg whites weigh in grams? Unfortunately I only have small/medium eggs at the moment 😞
Sam
A large egg white is roughly 30 grams. 🙂
Delores A Malekovic
Ii had leftover egg whites. I’m going to try this recipe. It sounds good and easy.
Sam
I hope you love it, Delores! 🙂
Holly Kerrison
I just made them, urh so good! as it’s my first time making them I decided to half the recipe just in case, still worked perfectly definitely recommend! 🙂
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Holly! 🙂
Geethika Ashok
I loved the recipe. It turned out good and crispy after 2 hrs rest time. But within 15 -20 mins ( I kept them back in the oven for that duration) they turned really soft . Could you please tell me what happened? And why that happened? What can I do ?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Geethika! The sugar in the meringue pulls moisture from the air. Too much moisture means sticky/soft meringues. If they seem sticky or chewy, you can try baking them for 10 minutes at 200 degrees to restore crispness. Unfortunately, these can be tricky if it is too humid. 🙁
Geethika Ashok
Yes. Back in oven for 10 mins makes them crispy but out of oven for cake decoration and it’s droopy again . It’s rainy season currently. So does that mean I won’t be able to make these untill it’s back to summer again?
Sugar Spun Run
You can try popping 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. Hopefully, this does the trick for you! Weather and moisture in the air can affect the outcome of the cookies, unfortunately. 🙁
Crystal
If I dont have cream of tartar, how much vinegar should be substituted?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Crystal! Unfortunately, the cream of tartar is needed in this recipe as it stabilizes the egg whites and helps provide the characteristic high peaks.
Yuna
Hi! I was just wondering if you need the tartar sauce. I don’t have tartar sauce and I want to make these meringues. Love the recipe though!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Yuna! Unfortunately, you need the cream of tarter for this recipe as it acts as a stabilizer.
Ro
You could use some lime juice, worked for me.
Abbey
This recipe was great! They turned out nice and crisp. I read through the tips a few times before starting, which was really helpful, so thank you! I’ve never made meringue anything before so super excited it worked out of the first go 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Abbey! 🙂