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.
Amy
I made it yesterday.
It was delicious and my friends really liked it too!
Thank you so much for sharing this good recipe!!!!!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Amy! 🙂
Maria
Would you recommend using meringue powder instead of cream of tartar? Any difference in the results?
Sam
Hi Maria! I think it will probably work. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Indi
Heya Sam! Loved this recipe A LOT and I recommend that future viewers watch the video- it helped me SO MUCH on my second attempt. However; my meringues would always turn out somewhat sticky on the inside- can you think of what might cause that? Thanks!
(Also how does it sound if I added peppermint extract instead…?)
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed the video and the cookies! They turn sticky due to humidity. You can throw them back in the oven to crisp them back up. Peppermint extract works great with these. 🙂
Rebekah
AMAZING! I first had this when I was in England and there was a stand with meringue cookies on it, and they tasted delicious! I was really excited to try them again almost 2 years later, and these did not disappoint! It has been raining a lot around where I live (MD), so I was worried they would get soft as stated in the video, but they didn’t! They lasted a whole day (I made them in advance) and only got a tiny bit sticky on the surface. Makes a lot of ‘batter’ & the cooking time was perfect (even for my larger ‘cookies’)! I will be using this recipe again!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Rebekah! If they ever get too stick you can always pop them back in the oven. 🙂
Cheryl
Hi Sam,
I am doing a strict low carb diet which, of course, which allows only diet Jell-o for a sweet treat. I have a few recipes to work for me but because meringues are pretty much egg whites and sugar, they would be perfect IF sugar can be replaced with Splenda. Any idea if using a sugar substitute like Splenda would be successful?
Thank you!
Sam
Hi Cheryl! I have not tried splenda myself but I know a few others have reported success using it. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
Cheryl
Hi Sam, I tried the Splenda and I suspect it would have worked but I may have over beat the mixture AND made them too small. They came out and they are edible but the texture is like if you burned something, got a solid piece of ash and then poked it. 😂. They disintegrate more than a meringue should. Back to the drawing board!
Sam
O no! I’m sorry it didn’t turn out! 🙂
Cheryl
Hi Sam,
Tried again and they were successful!! I believe that I beat the egg whites dry the first time so I was more careful this time. A great low carb treat using Splenda (in limited quantities, of course 😊 )
Sam
I’m glad they turned out this time. 🙂
Scott
They just came out, and they are incredibly light and crisp! I made three flavors: almond, banana-rum, and coffee (with a half of an instant coffee packet as well as coffee extract). I had 7 egg whites left over from a lemon tart, and I made the mistake of trying to do them all at once. Really difficult to get 7 egg whites to stiff peaks. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, but I’d stick to 4 egg whites. Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Scott! That would definitely take a LOTTT of mixing to whip all of those egg whites. 🙂
Iris
Great recipe! I used this to make really cute pikachu meringues on top of Ritz crackers. The meringue was nice and stable and was a dream to pipe with. My only question (with meringue in general, not specific to your recipe) why do meringues bake up with an orange skin like texture sometimes? Is it because I’ve waited too long before baking? I find that I don’t have this issue when I pipe normally with just some decorative tips. Or does this have to do with oven temperature ? Would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks!
Sam
Hmm that’s really odd. I wonder if your oven temperature is somehow off, or if it’s not keeping the temperature it needs to, or potentially the meringues are getting over-baked.
Renae
What happens if I take them out of the oven before they completely cool?
Sam
They could crack or become chewy. 🙁
Cindy Lopez
Can I use fine Sugar or stick to regular sugar?
Sam
Hi Cindy! You can use fine sugar here. 🙂
Lindsey
I have no idea what I’ve been doing wrong. I do everything in this recipe exactly as it says and I can never get the sugar to dissolve, or get stiff peaks. What am I doing wrong? I use a hand mixer with a whisk attachment
Sam
Hi Lindsey! Make sure the bowl you are using is completely clean, dry, and grease free and there’s not even the tiniest bit of yolk in with the egg whites. Use fresh egg whites and not store-bought ones from a carton. Also, it will take quite a bit of time to achieve stiff peaks with a hand mixer, it’s not at all impossible but it does require some patience and how long it takes depends greatly on the strength of your mixer.
Jennifer
I just made these with fine sugar and it blended so much easier!! The first batch I made I had a hard time getting the sugar to dissolve also 🙂
**please delete first comment – I did only 4*by accident!!! Lol all of Sam’s recipes are 5*
Andrea
I find if you add the sugar too early it doesn’t work. Wait until the eggs are foamy and all white.
Lynda
Thank you for the clear instructions! I made the classic vanilla and they turned out great! Will need to work on my piping skills though, but otherwise, perfect!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Lynda! Sounds like you have a great excuse to make yourself lots of meringues! 🙂
Michele
These turned out great! I followed the recipe exactly except for putting a few rainbow sprinkles on top before I put them in the oven.
I would live to try these with some different extracts. Almond, I think would be terrific.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Michele! 🙂
Amanda
Hi Sam! So I’ve attempted 3 times and overbeat the meringue because my sugar wasn’t dissolved! So I bought superfine, for my 3rd attempt. When the meringue was at best peak the sugar still was not dissolved completely! But I ended up just piping anyways. They came out perfect in oven but haven’t tasted. I put sugar in slow tablespoon at a time. Just wondering what I can do better to get it dissolved and not overbeat! Thank you Sam!
Sam
Hi Amanda! I’m sorry this is happening. My suggestion would have been to use the superfine sugar. You could try stirring it more slowly. The important thing is to go off of the peak so that was the good call. I hope they still turned out for you. 🙂
peshe Porges
HI, I love watching your videos and want to ask you a question. I usually make them with cornstarch, (yes they are meant to be gooey) but I find that after baking them, they are wet and really sticky. ( I make them in a 10″ round for a big cake) Am I doing something wrong? Can you tell me how to add the cornstarch so that it bakes thru and thru not burnt? I bake them at 240* Farnheit for about 2 hours
Thanks,
Malky
Sam
Unfortunately I don’t have any suggestions for using cornstarch.. Being baked in a pan that large it’s going to need to bake for much longer if you want it to be crispy. 🙁
Marilyn
I got excited about Pavlovas, and looked at a couple meringue recipes to compare. Explanation was that cornstarch was to “stabilize” peaks, but I did without, and after adding sugar slowly (didn’t even get all of it in), it was plenty firm enough, and baked up (9″ round shell) just fine for the same hour at also 225°, and left in the turned off oven for another 2 hrs to cool gradually. I don’t see any advantage to the cornstarch unless it helps in the storing/keeping use. I love the soft marshmallowy middle of the larger version, but cookies and mini Pavlova shells next baking day♡
Sam
I have a great pavlova recipe coming up in a few weeks based precisely off of this recipe and use NO cornstarch, so I don’t think it’s necessary (and this is coming from someone who LOVES using cornstarch in her recipes for many different reasons) 🙂
Christine
Mine are in the oven, can’t wait to try! I made a 1/2 batch with key lime extract and I’m going to try my second batch with root beer extract and see how that goes!
Sam
They sound delicious! I hope you love them. 🙂
Deborah Crabtree
I would like to make some coffee flavored meringues. Do you have any advice?
Also, I’d like to make them with pecans, then some chocolate chips. Should I just mix them in after stuff pealks?
Sam
Hi Deborah! While I haven’t tried it, you could probably add a little bit of instant coffee or espresso powder. You can add pecans or chocolate chips, you will just want to stir them in briefly at the end. 🙂
Chris
Hey Sam
I’ve followed your recipe to a T (with 3/4 cup sugar). Anyhow they turn out amazingly beautiful. However too sweet for our taste buds (a lil exaggerating to say we got a toothache).
Is there anyway we can make it less sweet?
Sam
Hi Chris! You may be able to reduce the sugar a little bit, but I’m not sure exactly how much. It’s a key component of the structure here.