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.
Sue Baker
Wonderfully crisp!
Been baking “forgotten cookies” for decades, but new oven made old recipe flop. This recipe corrected all the problems. New oven is gas and vents all heat when it gets turned off. So cookies need to bake long enough while oven is on- but not too hot as that can cause other issues. I also left the light on when I turned the oven off as I am in Louisiana and we have humidity. PERFECT!!
Thank you for this recipe.
PS. Gas ovens are a pain. Never again.
Sam
I’m so glad these turned out for you, Sue! 🙂
stephanie
Can these be frozen after baked? If not, how long can they be kept in an airtight container?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Stephanie! Freezing these can be risky, as you have to be very careful that there isn’t any moisture for the meringues to absorb while thawing. These cookies will stay fresh for about 2 weeks stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Hope that helps!
Ezra
Great recipe. I’ve been making this for awhile!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you like the cookies, Ezra! 🥰
Liv
Made them tonight and everything turned out great except for the fact i accidentally added 1/2tsp of salt 😭. Will try again tomorrow with the right amount but from what i can tell they will be great, thanks for this recipe!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Oh no! Hopefully tomorrow’s batch is just right 😊
Liv
This recipe is top notch, will make again!
Anne
can a sugar substitute be used in place of sugar?
Sam
Hi Anne! Unfortunately I haven’t tried it, but I have had others report success using substitutes.
Caster Sugar
We were mixing and mixing with the mixer on high, and while it did get a bit thicker, it never dissolved the sugar (which we did put in every 15-20 seconds). Then I googled “why won’t my sugar ever dissolve in meringue cookies?” and it said you have to use caster sugar. Multiple websites were saying this. So i’m surprised at all the positive reviews here. We’re trying again, but with caster sugar, and probably someone else’s website. Sorry Spun Run, you blew it.
Sam
Hi! To be perfectly clear you do NOT need to use caster sugar. The meringues in these photos were made using classic granulated sugar and you can see in my video that I use classic granulated sugar as well. With over 600 five-star reviews on this recipe from people who also made it with regular granulated sugar, I think it’s safe to say this is not a recipe issue 😉.
Based off your comment, you likely just added the sugar too quickly and had you continued mixing it should have dissolved (even if it were added too fast it should still come together). While typically 15-20 seconds works well it could take longer than this (especially if you’re using a hand mixer that’s not very strong, many of them aren’t). Also, since you mentioned the mixture just got “a bit thicker” this is another indicator that it simply wasn’t beaten enough (though you may have gotten moisture or egg yolk in with your whites, that could also do it), as it will get fluffy and voluminous and increase greatly in volume even if you were to add no sugar at all. There is also a troubleshooting/tips section in the post and a video tutorial that may be helpful to you. I hope that helps!
Teresa Ward
This recipe is great! I use crushed candy cane’s in place of sugar and they are amazing! The peppermint flavor is so light and not over powering, and I striped he piping bag with red coloring to give the red/white so cute. Love you recipes.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That sounds tasty! Thanks for sharing, Teresa 🥰
Erin
I just made these today. I used regular granulated sugar, and they turned out great.
Nat
Tasty, crunchy, sweet and airy! Thanks for all the tips.
Bill Kamman
Would freeze dried strawberries that have been pulverized work?
Sam
Hi Bill! IF they are already a powder I think you could probably stir some in. 🙂
Vito
Hi , how do you add the colour for the peppermint meringue cookies? I’m not sure on how to get the red lines on the meringues
Sam
Hi Vito! I dip a food-safe paintbrush in red gel food dye, “paint” stripes on the inside of the piping bag, then add the meringue before piping. Usually the first few come out white still but then the dye works its way down and you should get a nice swirl. I hope that helps!
Ida
Can I use liquid egg whites? If so, how do I measure for this recipe?
Sam
Hi Ida! I don’t recommend it. They can be difficult to whip to stiff peaks. Most of them say so right on the container. 🙁
Karen L Wentworth
can you add cocoa
Sam
Hi Karen! Yes, see my chocolate meringue cookie recipe.
TonyWheeler
You can carefully add chocolate chips before baking.
Carol
Could these be made without sugar as dog treats?
Sam
Hi Carol! I’m not sure this will work without sugar. 🙁
Kate
These are soo good I make them every holiday!!!
Adeline
I absolutely love this recipe and probably make it three times a month as my family loves it too and is always asking me to make it. In fact I usually lose a tray in the oven because when my family walks past the oven when the cookies are baking they take a handful out of the oven! Thanks so much for this amazing recipe, I would definitely recommend
Sandra
Regarding further baking meringues that soften: could they be microwaved at that stage rather than baked?
Sam
Hi Sandra! I’m honestly not sure how that would work.
Andi
mom always made these and added cocoa powder and finely chopped walnuts and called them wasps nests. so yummy!
Sam
Hi Andi! I actually have chocolate meringues too! 🙂