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.
Silvia
Everything went exceptionally well—until the baking. After 1 hour at 225, each meringue had a puddle underneath and the meringues themselves were quite soft. I do have an oven thermometer. Any other thoughts?
Sam
Hi Silvia! I have never seen this before with this recipe, but my best guess would be that the meringue was under-mixed or the sugar was not properly dissolved. That would be my best guess as to why this might have happened. Regardless I’m disappointed to hear they didn’t turn out picture-perfect for you! 🙁
Taylor A Weber
My tray doesn’t hold them all how do I store the batter and how long can I
store it?
Sam
Hi Taylor! You can try covering it tightly and storing in the refrigerator but there’s a chance it deflates and is unusable. You can bake these pretty close to each other when baking. 🙂
Eryn albert
Hello! Can I use cane sugar for this recipe?
Sam
Hi Eryn! Yes you can, enjoy!
Liz
Thank you for including instructions how to test if the sugar is completely incorporated, and how to make the meringues crisp again!
Sam
I’m glad it was helpful, Liz! 🙂
Cathy
How many ounces of meringue cookies does this recipe yield?
Sam
Hi Cathy! Honestly I have never weighed them so I can’t say for sure.
Tracy
Can you use powdered sugar in place of regular sugar?
Sam
Hi Tracy! I’m not sure how they would turn out. 🙁
Miya
This was such a strate forward recipe. I loved how the meringues turned out. you should definitely use this recipe for meringues.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Miya! 🙂
Betty
Can you send link for the video? I do not see it on the page.
Thanks
Sam
Hi Betty! If you have an ad blocker it will disable the video, but if that doesn’t work, the video is available on YouTube. 🙂
Georgia Martin
These were delicious. Followed the recipe & came our perfect. Now I can make at home in lieu of going to the store. I had the egg whites as I had made a lemon curd earlier in the week. Neat way to use what you already have@
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Georgia! 🙂
Bri
I never made meringue of any type before my first batch and it turned out amazing. I used gel food colour with a toothpick in streaks on the bag before I filled it with the meringue. They turned out so pretty. Thank you for all the tips included in the recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Bri! 🙂
Aja
I really liked this recipe. It was very easy to follow and to make. I am just a kid, and if I could make it I think that anyone can! I would like to know if I could color it. And if I can, would it be liquid or gel food coloring?
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! You can add food coloring by stirring it in briefly at the end or by following the same technique I talk about in the post. 🙂
Cori D Busse
Catherine, you use the whites not the yolks.
Cora
This is amazing! I used a kitchen aid and it worked really well, I did not do low speed at all because it was taking forever to foam and it foamed really nice! I love this recipe, Thank you!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Cora! 🙂
Valerie
I want to make a low sugar meringues but I don’t want it too little sugar or else it will not be yummy so how much sugar should I add?
Valerie
Sam
Hi Valerie! I know others have used sugar substitutes in these meringues to reduce the sugar but I’m not sure how much you can safely reduce it and still have them turn out to your liking. 🙂
Jaiki
Ain’t so nice as you describe but am proud for myself as i was able to atleast make something…..simply wunnerful!
Catherine
Really disappointed with myself because this is literally the easiest recipe ever! I think what happened was I didn’t leave the egg yolks at room temperature? I also didn’t beat it enough so the sugars would dissolve! 🙁
Sam
O no! I hope it goes better next time. 🙁
Jaiki
Keep trying
Marty
Major success. First attempt with generic instructions = major fail. Your video was key! Mine shaped differently and larger. To be topped with whipped cream, kiw, and raspberries. Many thanks!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Marty! 🙂
juanita
Catherine, it’s not you, it’s the yolks 🙂 You’re not supposed to put those in there. I buy a carton of just egg white at Aldi (or wherever) just for meringue treats 😀