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.
Mindy
If adding food coloring, what kind and how much is recommended?
Mindy
Additional question….is there a best way to divide the meringue so that multiple colors can be used and then do I just fold the color in w a spoon or does it need to be whipped w the wisk?
Sam
Hi Mindy! You can add food colorings when you add the vanilla. If you want to do many different colors just separate it into a few different bowls and then just stir in the food coloring of your choice. My personal favorites are food gels by Americolor. I get mine off of Amazon.
Sasha
Very good recipe and explanations! They turned out perfect, although I had to burn a batch a couple weeks ago because my oven is too hot. 150F was perfect. I thought I didn’t like meringues and was making them for somebody else but it turns out I really like them ..!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Sasha! 🙂
Ana
Thank you these came out super cute wish I can send you a picture
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Ana! Unfortunately my website can’t host pictures, but I have a Facebook Group you can join. I’d love to see them. 🙂
Kensi
Is it possible to store the meringues in the fridge
Sam
Hi Kensi! They are fine at room temperature in an air tight container. If you put them in the refrigerator they will end up getting soggy. 🙂
Marie
Can I use an artificial sweetener in lieu of sugar?
Sam
Hi Marie! I haven’t tried it and I’m not sure how it would turn out. Maybe someone else can chime in that has tried it, or if you try it, I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
Charlotte
I tried to make these and the whipping process took a very long time. How many minutes should it take to form stiff peaks and when is a good time to realizes there’s something wrong?
Sam
Hi Charlotte! I’m so sorry you are having issues! It normally takes me about 10 minutes and I have a really strong hand mixer. As long as you aren’t using carton egg whites, and you haven’t gotten and yolk, or grease mixed in there you can just keep going and they will become stiff. 🙂
Allie
So easy and amazing! Great recipe! It always turns out perfect 💖
Sam
Thank you so much, Allie! I am so glad you enjoyed them so much. 🙂
Abby
How long does it take to whisk by hand? I’ve been whisking for almost two hours and they’re still kind of runny
Sam
Hi Abby! Whisking by hand is REALLLLLYYYY tough here. You have to whisk vigorously for quite a while.
ken
i made them for the first time and they r soft in the middle what should i do
Sam
Hi Ken! It’s probably due to the humidity, just bake them a little bit longer. I have notes in the post about how to do it. 🙂
Nazneen
Hi
I made this recipe and followed all the instructions. But the meringues are stuck from outside. Is that how it’s meant to be? What could have gone wrong?
Please help.
Thank you
Sam
Hi Nazneen! They should not be sticky, sometimes humidity can do this. I would try baking them a bit longer, that should fix it. Enjoy! 🙂
Sidney
Hi. Thanks for the recipe. If I don’t have Tartar, can I omit it?
Sam
I honestly haven’t tested it myself. It really helps to stabilize the meringue. If you do try it I would love to know how it turns out. 🙂
Marie
These are delicious and very easy, thank you for posting this recipe! However, I am trying to cut back on the amount of sugar that we eat, is it possible to cut back the amount of sugar by half? How would it affect the final outcome of the cookies?
Thank you for your time.
Sam
Hi Marie! I’m not sure how much you can reduce the sugar here. I’m sure you could reduce it a little bit but the meringues are really only a couple of ingredients and if you get rid of a lot of one of them they may not be as good.
Alexandra Genissa Aligada Llamas
Can I make these without piping them?
Sam
Hi Alexandra! You could definitely make them without piping them. Piping them just makes them look pretty. 🙂
Katrina
How do I store these? I made them last night and left them on the counter covered with parchment paper and this morning they are all sticky.
P.S.
These are amazing! I’ve never made these before and my daughter and I had fun baking them! Thank you for the recipe
Sam
Hi Katrina! An air tight container is best. The humidity will make them sticky/chewy. You can always pop them back in the oven for a few minutes to reduce the stickiness/chewiness. 🙂
M
I’ve tried a lot of recipes for meringue cookies and this one is by far the best in terms of texture and taste. I’m definitely going to keep it bookmarked for future occasions.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies so much! 🙂
Kyrra
Yummy! 🙂
Sam
Thank you so much, Kyrra! 🙂
Jill
AMAZING! I’ve made these many, many times and they have never failed to impress! Our family can’t stop eating them! And, whenever I make ice cream with a custard base, I always use the egg whites for these cookies. We even think these are better than our favorite meringues from our local bakery!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoys them so much, Jill! They never last long in my house either. 🙂