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.
Justine Platt
Thank you for all the tips. Ours worked out great. We are so happy. We like pavlova so we made some mini cases for individual ones. So lovely! Will post on Instagram soon. @thebluebirdbarn Justine
Margaret
Can you add a bit of food coloring to this recipe? I’d like to make them light pink..
Sam
Sure thing. I would stir it in briefly at the end, making sure not to over-beat it and deflating your egg whites. 🙂
H+H
These meringue cookies are great! We used 3/4 cup sugar and left out the cream of tartar. To speed up cooking time somewhat, we bake these for 1–1.5 hours with the oven fan on, then cool them in the oven for 1 hour. We’ll definitely be making these again!
Oona
These meringue cookies are SO good!!! I made them this afternoon, and we got through a small sheet tray is like 15 mins, they are that good!!! They literally taste like crispy marshmallows, in the BEST way!!! A tip: make sure you use the vanilla extract because it gives them the amazing marshmallow-ey taste. Mine cracked a bit, but I don’t care the slightest. Also, my meringue got to stiff peaks, and the sugar was not dissolved, so I just kept going, and it was fine. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Myra
Hi,
Can you reduce the sugar in half, and use only half a cup for 4 egg whites?
Sam
Hmmm the sugar is important for the structure in these cookies so I’m not quite sure how it would turn out.
Shannon
Could I use egg whites from a carton of egg whites? I’m not really good at separating eggs. =/
Sam
Hi Shannon! I don’t recommend it as they can be difficult to whip to stiff peaks.
Maria
I however did use egg whites from a carton and they came out perfect!!
Cesaera
I used a small round tip on a pastry bag and piped the vanilla meringue into small hearts. It was a whim- but I can see using crushed dried edible flowers (roses, lavender?) or rose water flavoring and/or food coloring. They are quite cute. Wish I could post a pic. Try it!
Sam
They sound really cute! You can tag me on instagram @SugarSpun_Sam or join my facebook group to share pictures. I’d love to see them. 🙂
luna mcfarland
This recipe is perfect! The cookies were wonderful and sweet. I was surprised about how easy it was to make. The whole family loved it!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Luna! 🙂
Emily Laverone
This was a great meringue cookie recipe! Highly recommend!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Emily! 🙂
Christine
Great recipe! How long can this be stored in an air tight container at room temperature? I would like to make a bunch of these for a local hospital and use buttercream to make little cookie sandwiches out of them.
Thank you !
Sam
Hi Christine! These are typically good for a couple of weeks in an air tight container. The good thing about these is that if they become chewy you can pop them back in the oven for a few minutes to crisp them back up. 🙂
Joselyn
Can I substitute cream of tartar for lemon juice?
Sam
Hi Joselyn! I haven’t tried it but I know others have with success. 🙂
Laureen Efner
I substituted white vinegar
Susan Cothren
Super easy and beautiful
Thanks,
Su
Alex
These turned out beautifully! I wanted them super crunchy for a trifle I was making for Christmas and I wasn’t disappointed (I ended up doubling the recipe). I will definitely be making these again, thank you!
Kriste
How long do these cookies stay fresh for? Would they tolerate a chocolate drizzle with some crush candy cane or some kind of topping?
Sam
Hi Kriste! They should stay nice and crisp in an air tight container for at least a week. If they become a little chewy they can always be popped back in the oven for a little while at a really low temperature. You can definitely add chocolate and candy cane to the meringues. You can actually see I do this in one of the pictures. 🙂
jillian
I made 1/4 of this recipe and piped it into the shape of a mushroom for a topping on my Yule log Christmas cake! I also added peppermint extract. They look and taste very nice!
Jean
I plan to do the same. What amounts did you use for the salt and cream of tartar if you don’t mind me asking?
jillian
I did 1/8 of a teaspoon and just a pinch of salt, hope they turn out well for you!
Becky Lackey
This was sooooo easy!! I’m really into Pavlova also so these little meringues were right up my alley. I’m going to do the sipped in chocolate with crushed candy cane!! This is a fantastic website so glad I found you.
Merry Christmas
Suzanne Dwyer
Can you use a sugar substitute like swerve?
Sam
Unfortunately I haven’t tried a sugar substitute. If you do I’d love to know how it turns out. 🙂