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.
whitney l cammack
The best meringue recipe that I have found yet!! Thank you for all the tips and no fail tricks! My oven runs hot so I browned the little tips but otherwise… Perfection!!!Thank You!!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy to hear this, Whitney! Enjoy the meringues 😊
Melanie
Can this recipe be used to make one large meringue that will be used in another dessert recipe, broken up?
Sam
Hi Melanie! Yes it can be. You’ll need to bake it longer, but I’m not sure how much longer. You do run the risk of the outside browning a little too much and the inside not quite being done.
Janine
I’m just about to make these and very excited! I have a question though: how long can the unbaked meringue sit before it falls? Should it be stored in the fridge? I’m worried not all the batter will fit into my oven in one go, and that the rest of the meringue batter will collapse as it waits for the long cook and cool time.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Janine! You can store your batter in the refrigerator while the first batch bakes. 🙂
Janine Slevinsky
Thank you!! That is incredibly helpful!!
Vanisha
Hello,
I tried this recipe and it came out great the first tried . My question is can I cut back on sugar ? Or will it mess it up ? If so, how much auger can I cut back without messing it up
Sam
Hi Vanisha! I know some others have cut the sugars a little bit, but I haven’t tried it myself to say exactly how much it can be cut here. Enjoy! 🙂
Mya
Hi! I’m in the process of baking my meringues and it’s been just 30 minutes in the oven and when I took it out of the oven to turn the pan around I found out that, it’s melting everything was fine before I put them in the oven, the only change I made was that I didn’t put the cream of tartar but google said it was okay as long as I used fresh eggs and I did. I’m wondering what went wrong
Sam
Hi Mya! It sounds like the meringue wasn’t properly stabilized, unfortunately. If it wasn’t whipped properly this could cause this to happen. The cream of tartar helps stabilize the meringue as well and keep this from happening, so this very well could be part of the problem, too.
Debi Barnwell
I followed this recipe exactly. But some of my meringues had syrup-like weeping around the bottom when they were done 🙁
Sam
Hi Debi! That is frustrating. It sounds like either the meringue wasn’t quite whipped enough to stiff peaks or if the humidity is high where you are that could also cause it (after baking).
Ansley
I made these last Christmas and they were a giant hit with my family, I was able to get so many presents done for not that expensive of a recipe. I made them in all kinds of flavors and colors and it worked out so well on the first try. Thanks for your recipe and your very detailed instructions. I’m planning to make them again this year.
Sam
I am so happy to hear this, Ansley!! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, that means a lot to me 🙂
Allison
Can I open the oven half way thru to rotate the pan or should I leave it closed? I have a hot spot in the back right corner.
Sam
Hi Allison! That should be just fine. 🙂
Ksenia
I’m on the process of baking this now :).
But I had a question about how it should look like when using a piping bag with different tips. I was trying to create little shapes. The shapes from the regular round tip came out okay, they kind of look like little kisses. But the meringue shapes made with zigzag tip (not sure what it’s called, but it sort of looks like a star) didn’t come out right…the shape wasn’t sharp enough to see..imagine piping somewhat melted ice cream, that’s what I got. Any tips?
Sam
Hi Ksenia! I hope you love the cookies. For the problem regarding piping, they should be able to hold their shape really well, like the ones you see pictured. If yours didn’t quite hold their shape the meringue may have needed to be whipped a little bit longer. The video may be helpful for a visual cue of how the meringue should look. 🙂
Ksenia
Thanks for getting back to me. 🙂 That’s what I’ve figured. I’ve sampled my first batch and they came out pretty great taste wise. Thanks for the recipe.
Lacy
Hello! This recipe was successful first try and tasted great! I would like to make a chocolate version. Do you have a recommendation on how to add cocoa powered? Thanks again for the easy to follow guide!
Sam
Hi Lacy! I actually have a recipe for chocolate meringues you can follow. 🙂
Emily Scheltgen
Hey! I would guess you need to whip your egg whites longer. You want to be able to turn the whisk upside down and not see any bending or movement. Good luck!
Heidi
How far in advance have you made the meringues!
Sam
Hi Heidi! Meringues should be good for a couple of weeks in an air tight container. If they start to become a little bit chewy you can put them back in the oven. 🙂
Halima
My batch is chewy so can i preheat my oven again n put them bake….they have turned a lil pale though
Sam
Hi Halima! I actually have a brief paragraph on how to make them crispy again in the post under the tips section. 🙂
Zoha
Hi
I wanted to ask what the use of the cream of tartar is, Is it necessary to put in?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Zoha! Cream of tartar adds stability to the egg whites. We don’t recommend skipping it!
Barb
Hello, is it possible to use liquid egg whites from a carton (Costco)
Sam
Hi Barb! I generally don’t recommend it as people have reported mixed results with the carton egg whites reaching stiff peaks, and many cartons say that they aren’t suitable for whipping to stiff peaks (which is critical to the meringue batter forming properly).
Terrylynn
Hi. I was wondering 🤔 can you make these in a electric Convection oven and if so what temperature.. im getting a new Convection double oven delivered next week.. I had a regular electric oven..
Sam
A convection oven could work here, but I haven’t done it personally so I’m not sure how to advise on time or temperature. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
Gabriella c
Cream of tartar is the stabilizer, you may use vinegar or lemon juice instead of cream of tartar, I’ve always done it the traditional way and it comes out wonderfully though I use a mix of caster sugar a d icing sugar and it helps dissolve the sugar alot quicker good luck!
Chantale
The recipe is really well explained and the meringues looked very good after I piped them. About an hour after I had turned off the oven I noticed that the meringues had lots of cracks and holes. I don’t really know what happend there.
Sam
Hi Chantale! I’m so sorry this happened! It could potentially be from the oven temperature being a little too high or the meringue mixture may have been beaten a little too vigorously. 🙁
Saba
Should the temperature have been 275? I baked these at 225 for 1hr and then let them sit for 2hrs but unfortunately they were very underbaked. I’ve seen other recipes at 275 so was curious if it was incorrectly written? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Saba! 225 is the correct temperature, if your meringues were piped a bit larger they may have needed a bit more time.
Jenny
How many cookies does this make?
Sam
It will make 80 if piped to be 1 inch wide by 1 inch tall. 🙂
Clayton
Usually these come out perfect, but this time I added lemon extract and lost my stiff peaks. So I guess you can’t make lemon meringue cookies
Sam
I’m wondering if this particular lemon extract is made with oil, that can cause the egg whites to deflate. Did you bake them? How did they turn out?
Clayton
Hi Sam,
The lemon extract is made with oil of lemon.
When I scooped out the meringue, it joined together into a thin sheet about a 1/4″ thick. I baked it at 225 for about 45 minutes and it turned out okay. I cut up the sheet into squares, and they look like lemon squares. They have sort of a thicker texture than meringue, but that doesn’t really matter to me.
Sam
I’m glad you still enjoyed them. 🙂
Clayton
I did bake the meringue, it came out like a 1/4″ thick sheet, still had the taste and texture of a meringue. Even though it wasn’t perfect it was still a hit! I’ll keep in mind to be careful with my extracts.
Alice Creed
I have made the meringues with lemon extract a few times (in fact every time I make them I add lemon to half the batch – they’re my favourite flavour) and they turned out fine so it’s probably not the fact that it’s lemon that’s messing it up.
Payal
Hi.. is granulated sugar castor sugar .. m gng to give this receipe a shot .. thanx n love frm India 💕
Sam
Hi Payal! You can use caster sugar! Granulated sugar here is generally a bit more coarse than caster sugar, but caster sugar will work just as well. Enjoy!
Payal
Thanx Samantha 😊
Ann
Thank you.Will definitely give my kitchenaid a try.They do taste wonderful though, it just they are all cracked
Ann
I made these and came out great but,unfortunately, they all cracked.The 1st problem I encountered was the sugar not being all dissolved.I used fine granulated organic cane sugar.I mixed it for close to an hour with my hand mixer,to the point where I felt my shoulder dislocated,while taking breaks in between.I also added a bit of beet powder for the color.They did come out really tasty,crunchy and delicious, but all cracked. I was planning on decorating my daughter’s cake with them (I can still do that,as she doesn’t mind it).
I do have a kitchenaid mixer that I bought 4 years ago,but never used it as it looks too intimidating for me.
I was wondering if I should slightly grind the sugar instead of using it granulated.Some people don’t recommend it.Any ideas?
Thank you.
Sam
Hi Ann! I am not familiar with using beet powder so I can’t say for sure that this is not the issue, but I am wondering if the meringue was actually whipped too much, especially if you had to mix it for nearly an hour. I would take a peek at the video (where I use my KitchenAid) and try using your KitchenAid as that will certainly save your arm (and I think you’ll just love it once you try it!)! I’m not sure about grinding the sugar, but I have used fine sugar before with success.
savannah
the recipient said add 1 table spoon of sugar at a time maybe you added too much and then you over mixed it because your sugar wasn’t dissolved i actually made the same mistake i was adding one at a time but it was already at stiff peaks and i still had over half the sugar left so i added the rest of the sugar and had to mix it even longer then i would have to normally
Megawaty
Hi Sam thanks for your recipe , I get it done so lovely meringue cookies , stay waiting my meringue to let it cool for an hour in the oven. Thanks from Indonesia 🥰🥰🥰
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We hope you love them, Megawaty! Thanks so much for your five-star review! ❤️