These easy meringue cookies are light and delicate, melt-in-your-mouth sweet and crisp throughout!! Effortlessly impressive treats that are naturally fat-free.
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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 these cute little meringue kisses, finicky macarons, impressive Pavlovas, just to name a few! How can you not though?!
Just look at these adorable meringue mushrooms!!!
How to make meringue cookies:
It’s incredibly easy to make these cookies, if you follow couple of rules.
- Before you begin, make sure the mixing bowl and whisk are clean and grease-free. It’s best to use metal or glass bowls, as plastic tends to retain grease.
- Separate egg whites and egg yolks, being careful not to get any yolk into the whites.
- Whip the egg whites until foamy with salt and cream of tartar.
- Then slowly add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, and whip the meringue until hard peaks form.
- Transfer the batter into a piping bag, fitted with a decorative tip. Pipe into desired shapes and sizes on a baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 40-90 minutes at 200°F. Exact baking time depends on the size of your meringue cookies.
Tip
Cold eggs are easier to separate. But room temperature egg whites whip faster and get more volume!
French Meringue 101
Read this French Meringue 101 post, or watch this video to understand the “why”s behind the strict rules about making a meringue.
Meringue Tips:
- Use metal bowl and whisk to whip egg whites, as plastic tend to retain grease in its pores.
- Any fat, including egg yolk, prohibits egg whites to whip into fluffy white meringue.
- Meringue cookies don’t spread during baking, so feel free to pipe them close together.
- Bake low and slow, and cool gradually in the oven. Once the cookies are baked through, simply turn off the oven and leave the cookies cool with the oven.
How to use sultan tip:
At first, it may seem like it’s tricky to use a Sultan tip.
But, I promise you, after a few practice efforts, you’ll get hang of it pretty quickly.
- Hold the tip slightly above the piping surface.
- Gently squeeze the filling/batter until desired height.
- Carefully and slowly lift the piping bag. This is the most tricky part, but the key here is not to make fast moves.
Best piping tips for meringue cookies:
Here’re my favorite small tips for cute little meringue kisses:
- Open star #18 Wilton tip
- Closed star #32 Wilton tip
- Small round #12 Wilton tip
How to store meringue cookies:
Meringue cookies store well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Can you freeze meringue cookies?
Yes, you can freeze meringue cookies, but ensure they’re completely airtight. Moisture is the enemy to meringue cookies!
Enjoy!
Easy Meringue Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites at room temperature, Note 1
- 1 cup (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 on medium speed until frothy.
- Add cream of tartar and salt. And continue to whip the meringue until it turn white.
- Start adding sugar one tablespoon at a time, while mixer is still running. Allow the sugar to dissolve after each addition.
- Increase the speed to medium high, once all the sugar is added.
- 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
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… 🙂