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.
Grace
This is a PERFECT recipe. I made them this morning, flavored and even coloured them. They were perfect!!! Thanks so much!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Grace!! 🙂
Gloria
I added a half a teaspoon of orange extract and used powdered sugar instead because I was concerned about the grittiness of the sugar. Worked out excellent! I also added chopped toasted pecans and chocolate chips.
Anna
Hello! I was wanting to make some Christmas tree meringues using a star tip…I was wondering if they would need to be baked for longer since they are larger? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Anna! If they are significantly larger they will probably need to bake a little bit longer. 🙂
Jane Shapiro
What else can you use if you don’t have parchment paper. really looking forward to making these I remember them from my childhood. Thank you.
Sam
Hi Jane! You can just bake directly on the baking sheet, it will work just fine. Enjoy! 🙂
Debbie
Hi can I add mini chocolate chips to these?
Sam
Hi Debbie! Yes you can. Stir them in briefly at the end. 🙂
Kay
How did you get the red in the cookie on the edges.?kay
Sam
Hi Kay! I paint stripes of gel food coloring on the inside of the piping bag before adding the meringue to pipe it. 🙂
Pam
I split in half and did peppermint in half and root beer in the other half. Sounds crazy but sooo good. Also do you know the substitutions for using sugar free like Splenda or stevia instead? I tried in the summer and they didn’t work with a sugar substitute
Sam
Hi Pam! I haven’t tried the stevia or splenda myself, but I know others have used it with success.
Karen Gengler
Try using Monk Fruit. No calories, no carbs, and no weird taste. Has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries. Substitute 1:1. Should work fine. It’s like a miracle sweetener.
Laura
Thank you for this recipe, my first attempt is sweet white soup, lol. Meringue is baking now and can’t wait to try tomorrow at Christmas party.
Sam
I hope you love them, Laura! 🙂
Florence Thompson
I like your site and have one question. I bought some sugar the other day and am wondering if it could be used to make meringue cookies. It’s called Morena Pure Cane Sugar put out by a company called Zulka. It’s made by squeezing and evaporating the juice from freshly harvested sugar cane. It is unrefined, NON-GMO Project Verified pure can sugar has been squeezed by —I will follow your recipe . I hope you can send me an answer asap. Thank you.
Sam
Hi Florence! Ooh, honestly this is a very specific type of sugar that I have never experimented with so I can’t give you a for sure answer. I don’t know why it wouldn’t work but would love to hear how it turns out for you.
Lori
I have worked with a similar unrefined sugar 2 times. The granules are larger and take long to dissolve. I had success one time and the other I did not.
Mary
Can I add mini chocolate chips to this recipe?
Sam
Yes you can. Fold them in at the end. 🙂
Pratishtha Shivhare
I have a smaller oven and can bake only 1 sheet at a time, can i store the batter/mixture in the refrigerator overnight and make kisse next morning?
Sam
I haven’t tried it but I think it should work. Make sure to store it in an air tight container. 🙂
Parker H
Mine turned out great! I can’t stop eating them haha! Great tips!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Parker! 🙂
Candy Dubray
first time baking these cookies, they are in the oven now, they are holding their shape, I hope they taste as good as they look, because I could still feel the sugar in the meringue as I piped, so now I think I under whipped them! Crossing fingers they turn out!
Sam
Hi Candy! I can’t wait to hear how they turn out. 🙂
Candy
OMG they are so light, melt in your mouth. My husband loves them, will be making several more batches working on keeping them the same size now and will be doing some Christmas bark ones as well
Thanks for the recipe
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Candy! 🙂
Stephanie
Ours turned out amazingly crisp!! We used 1/2 tsp vanilla ext and a about 3/4 tsp peppermint extract. They were delicious. Your hints are very helpful!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Stephanie! 🙂
Vanessa
Mine turned out a bit sticky after a few hours. Can they just be re-baked for a little and then they become harder? The taste and all were great! Will re try either way!
Sam
Hi Vanessa! Check the tips section in the post for directions on how to reheat them and make them nice and crisp again. 🙂
Jessika
I think its important to use real vanilla. A few of us used this same recipe and there was a HUGE difference in flavor between real vanilla and artificial vanilla. Also, thanks for the recipe and tips! These turn out amazing, every time–thanks to you 🙂
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed the meringues, Jessika! Thank you so much for letting me know how they turned out for you! 🙂