This easy meringue cookies recipe is light and delicate, melt-in-your-mouth sweet, and crisp throughout! Made with five simple ingredients, these cookies are effortlessly impressive and perfect for the holidays.
Why you’ll love these meringue cookies
If you’ve browsed around my site for any amount of time, you’ve probably noticed I have a soft spot for meringue-based desserts. I adore lemon meringue pie, macarons, Pavlovas, just to name a few!
However, this simple meringue cookie recipe is my favorite meringue recipe for the holidays.
- These little kisses look impressive but are really pretty simple to make, using just five ingredients.
- Bite-sized and sweet with notes of vanilla, these cookies are perfectly poppable and leave all your guests coming back for “just one more.”
- Leftovers store well, making this simple meringue cookies recipe great for holiday parties and gifting.
After years of making these cookies, I can confidently say I’ve perfected the recipe, making it as failproof as possible. So, don’t worry if you’re new to meringue. I’m sharing all my tips and tricks to guarantee your cookies turn out great!
Key Ingredient Notes
- Egg whites – These form the base of the meringue cookies. Cold eggs separate easily, but room-temperature egg whites whip better and faster. You can also use carton egg whites if preferred. You’ll need 150 grams of liquid egg whites. This eliminates any risk of yolks in your cookies!
- Granulated sugar – Look for fine granulated sugar so that it dissolves easily into the cookies. Take a look at my Sugar 101 post to learn more about the different types of sugar.
- Cream of tartar – I like to use cream of tartar to keep the egg white more stable, preventing your cookies from deflating. However, you can omit it if you don’t have it on hand.
- Coarse kosher salt – A little goes a long way to enhance the rest of the ingredients. It won’t make your cookies salty!
- Pure vanilla extract – I always have a batch of homemade vanilla extract on hand. If you don’t or just prefer a slightly nuttier taste, almond extra will also work.
Add color
I like to use red and green gel food coloring to make festive cookies during the holidays.
How to make this simple meringue cookie recipe
Read this French Meringue 101 post, or watch this video to understand the “whys” behind the strict rules about making a meringue before you begin.
Then, preheat your oven to 200°F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
1. Prepare the meringue
- Combine the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar (if using), and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Whip the mixture on medium high speed using an electric hand mixer.
- When the meringue is at soft peaks stage, add vanilla and food coloring, if desired.
- Beat until stiff peaks form. This is when the meringue tip stands straight up when you lift the whisk.
- Transfer the meringue mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip.
2. Pipe the meringue
- Pipe it into shapes on the prepared baking sheet. Have fun getting creative here!
Pipe closely
Meringue cookies don’t spread while they’re baking. So, feel free to save space on the baking sheet, and pipe them closely.
3. Bake the meringue cookies
- Bake for 40-90 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. You know they are done when they’re hard to the touch, are crisp throughout, and can be easily lifted from the baking sheet!
- Turn the oven off, and let the cookies slowly cool inside the oven.
- Enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Use the proper tools. Make sure to use a metal bowl and whisk to whip the egg whites. Plastic tends to retain grease in its pores and can impact the taste and texture of your cookies.
- Be careful not to include any fat. Any fat, including egg yolk, prohibits egg whites from whipping into a fluffy white meringue. So, be very careful to separate the egg whites and yolks properly, and keep your work area clean!
- Use room-temperature egg whites. Let the egg whites come to room temperature before whipping to speed up the process and create the best, fluffy consistency.
- Use the right piping tip. We want to keep these cookies fairly small. So, I recommend using an open star #18 Wilton tip, closed star #32 Wilton tip, or small round #12 Wilton tip for the best results.
- Don’t rush! It’s important to bake these cookies low and slow to allow them to puff up and set. Also, transferring the cookies from a hot oven to a cool room temperature area can cause them to deflate. So, make sure they’re completely cool before removing them from the oven.
How to use a Sultan tip:
At first, it may seem like it’s tricky to use a Sultan tip. But, I promise you, after a few practice runs, you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly.
- Hold the tip slightly above the piping surface.
- Gently squeeze the meringue filling until the desired height or shape is achieved.
- Carefully and slowly lift the piping bag. This is the trickiest part, but the key here is not to make fast moves.
- Ta-da! You’re done. Repeat the process, piping all of your cookies.
Storing Tips
- Store leftover meringue cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. I also like to wrap them up in cellophane bags tied with ribbon for fun holiday gifts!
- Freeze these cookies for up to 3 months. Just make sure they’re in a tight, completely sealed container. Moisture will ruin them quickly!
FAQs:
The primary ingredients in these cookies are always whipped egg whites and sugar. This is what creates their signature sweet taste and airy consistency.
The secret to the best results is making sure no fats get into your cookies and using room-temperature egg whites so that they whip quickly, becoming nice and airy.
Simple yet irresistible, these cookies are sweet with a subtle vanilla or almond taste.
More Cookie Recipes
Easy Meringue Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 (140 g) egg whites at room temperature, Note 1
- 1 cup (200 g) (200g) granulated sugar Note 2
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar optional, Note 3
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla (or almond) extract
- Gel food coloring optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F (95°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or silicone mat.
- In a large mixing bowl with whisk attachment, whisk egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. (Alternatively, you can use an electric hand mixer.)
- If you’re making colored meringue cookies, add gel food coloring at soft peak stage. (Soft peak stage is when you lift the whisk, merigue tip droops into a hook.)
- Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
- When the meringue reaches soft peaks (it's when you lift the whisk, merigue tip droops into a hook), add vanilla extract and food coloring, if desired.
- Continue to beat the meringue until stiff peaks form. When you lift the whisk, you'll see the meringue tip stands straight up.
- Transfer the meringue into a pastry bag, fitted with decorative tip, and pipe into desired shapes and size on lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 40-90 minutes, depending on size of the cookies. Meringues are done when they are hard to the touch, can be easily lifted and crisp all throughout.
- Turn off the oven, and let the cookies slowly cool in the oven.
Tips & Notes
– Store meringue cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
– You can also freeze meringue cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Can you add peppermint flavoring?
Absolutely, Tammy. Any flavoring will work great. For peppermint, I’d suggest adding about 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Hope you enjoy!
Yummy! Pinned to make sometime soon 🙂
Great! Hope you enjoy them, Michelle!
These cookies are so pretty! I love the colors too!
Thank you, Margaret!
These are just adorable and definitely eye-catching. So tickled you shared with us at Weekend Potluck. We’d sure love it if you’d link back to the party in your post…it makes you eligible to be featured…at FIVE blogs. =) Have a wonderful Easter week.
Thank you!!
So pretty and simple! These would add a pop of color to my Christmas cookie tray, for sure!
Definitely! Thanks for stopping by, Julie!
Sain uu Shinee, oruuldag jor chin ih taalagddag shuu 🙂 bi ene meringue 2 dahi udaagaa hiij baina. 2uuland n nileen shingenduu bolood baih yum. bi yuug n buruu hiigeed baigaan bol? sahariin pudree shigshsen, undugnii tsagaanaa huusurtul n mixerdej bgad cream of tartaraa hiisen. zaavriin daguu hiigeed bhd shingen bolood, yag goyo helbert orohgui yum? plz help 🙂
Sain, sain bna uu? Undugnii tsagaanaa l sain huvsiij togtvorjiltol ni hutgaj uguhgui bh shig bna daa. Undugnii tsagaand joohon l shar orson bol butehgui, mun miskers bolon sav chini toslogtoi bol bas bolohgui. Cream of tartar hezee hiisen ni neeh chuhal bish, dunguj hutgaj ehleed l hiihed bolno. Gol ni sahariin pudree hiicheed bur togtvortoi boltol ni sain mikserdeh heregtei. Minii bodloor undugnii tsagaand l jaahan tos, esvel undugnii shar orood bh shig bna.
Ene yamarhu amttai bolddog ve? Zefir shig uu?
Yag tiim zefir shig bish. Butarsan hatuuduu gehiimuu da… 🙂