A classic recipe for meringue cookies! These light and airy meringues make for a great treat any time of the year, but I especially love them as a Christmas dessert!
If this is your first time making meringues I recommend reading over the tips in the post and watching the video before beginning.
Duration:
Servings: 80 meringue cookies
Calories: 21kcal
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
Instructions
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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.
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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
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Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer (with either the whisk or paddle attachment), stir on low speed until mixture becomes foamy.
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Increase speed to high.
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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 granulated sugar
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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).
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
¹You may substitute different extracts, if I’m adding a different flavor I usually like to still keep the vanilla but cut it down to ½ teaspoon, then add ¼-1/2 teaspoon of the extract of choice. Be careful as some extracts (like Peppermint) are very strong, and you don’t want to use too much!
²If there’s even a tiny bit of grease or moisture in your bowl, your egg whites may not whip up properly. The same thing could happen if there is even a tiny bit of egg yolk mixed in with your egg whites.
Nutrition
Serving: 1meringue cookie | Calories: 21kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 11mg | Sugar: 5g
