Simple Meringue Cookies
Meringue cookies are light, ethereal cookies made with only 4 ingredients! These egg white cookies will melt in your mouth and tantalize your sweet tooth!
This easy meringue cookie recipe will become one of your favorites. Make a batch whenever you have leftover egg whites! I’ll guide you through the process so your first attempt will be perfect!!
Why You Should Make
- This meringue cookie recipe can be jazzed up with food coloring and flavorings, but these are the most basic, simple meringue cookies.
- Only 4 ingredients and a few steps and these gems will be ready to eat!
- Spotting this elegant Strawberry Meringues Recipe from Pint Sized Baker reminded me that an ordinary meringue cookie recipe can be the base for an amazing dessert as well as scrumptious egg white cookies!
Ingredient Notes
- Egg Whites – make sure they’re at room temperature
- Cream of Tartar – the acid helps stabilize the egg whites. PRO-Tip: Use twice as much white vinegar or lemon juice as a substitute if you don’t have any cream of tartar.
- Pinch of Salt – salt is crucial to enhance the flavor of desserts
- Superfine Sugar – superfine sugar is preferred as it dissolves into the egg whites a bit easier, but I’ve had success numerous times with regular, granulated sugar. If your market carries Domino sugar, you can find their superfine sugar in the baking aisle. You can also make your own by processing sugar in the food processor for 30 seconds (but there is some research that says making your own will not result in the same quality as purchased superfine sugar).
A Versatile Easy Meringue Cookies Recipe
These meringue cookies will be incorporated into a fabulous Strawberry Eton Mess dessert to be revealed on Sunday, so I didn’t add any vanilla to keep them a beautiful, pure white color. But just think of all the options with these egg white cookies: green for St. Patrick’s Day, pink with peppermint extract for Valentine’s Day, pastel colors for Easter! A fun cookie any time of the year!
Expert Tips:
I’ve been making meringue since I was a teen. Lemon meringue pie was one of my specialties, and my family was brave enough to eat it! I’m not certain I knew all the tricks for making the best meringues in those days, but I have learned a few tips along the way. Use these guidelines for your own simple meringue cookies as well as to top cream pies, make pavlova, and more!
- Room temperature egg whites will give your meringue cookies more volume and help the sugar dissolve more easily.
- Make sure to whip the egg whites to soft peaks before adding any sugar.
- Superfine sugar (affiliate link) will dissolve more easily than regular granulated sugar.
- My mom taught me to rub some of the whipped meringue between my fingers to feel for sugar granules. You may feel a few, but most should be dissolved for the best results.
- For perfect meringues, add the sugar slowly. Don’t rush the process. Add one tablespoon at a time and give it a minute or so before adding more.
- PRO-Tip: Make sure your mixing bowl and beater are scrupulously clean. Any speck of oil (this includes any egg yolk) will prevent the whites from becoming white and billowy.
- So that you don’t get any egg yolks in your whites when separating your eggs, make sure to crack them on a flat surface (not the edge of your bowl) and separate them while cold (right out of the refrigerator).
- It’s also wise to not separate them over a bowl of egg whites as that almost always guarantees that a little yolk will contaminate the other whites and you’ll have to start over!
- To keep your egg white cookies a pristine white, not even a splash of vanilla was added, but feel free to include a little if that’s your preference. Vanilla meringue cookies are also wonderful to eat on their own or use in a recipe!
- Cooled Vanilla Meringue Cookies can be stored 2 weeks or longer in an airtight container at room temperature and longer if they’re in the freezer.
How to Make
- Whip egg whites until foamy.
- Continue beating whites until soft peaks form, then slowly add sugar and beat to form stiff peaks.
- Pipe or drop meringue onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake as directed.
Use your simple meringue cookies to make this layered Strawberry Eton Mess, made with crushed meringues, whipped cream, and berries.
What to Make with Leftover Egg Yolks:
You can always add some extra yolks to a big batch of Sunday morning scrambled eggs, but here are some more egg yolk recipe ideas for you. Any creme brulee recipe will work like my Classic Creme Brulee which uses 7 egg yolks or my White Chocolate Creme Brulee which uses 4 yolks. Irish Cream Pots de Creme uses 6 egg yolks. You’ll be set with two marvelous desserts if you make these simple meringue cookies, then a rich dessert made with the leftover yolks!
Frequently Asked Questions
The goal is to keep your cooled and baked meringue cookies away from humidity. They should be packed in airtight containers and can be stored at room temperature, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer.
When stored in a cool dry place, meringue cookies stay fresh for up to 2 weeks. If frozen, they can last a couple of months.
Meringue can be very finicky. The most common reason for meringue failure is getting oil or grease into the egg white mixture. This can be from a little grease in the mixing bowl or beater or even a small speck of egg yolk contaminating the egg whites.
Plus, before beginning to add the sugar, the egg whites should be beaten until just foamy. Overbeating the egg whites until they look dry can also cause a meringue failure.
You May Also Like:
Here are some more recipes for what to do with extra egg whites. Plus, some other favorite desserts.
- Strawberry Meringues Recipe from Pint Sized Baker
- Lemon Souffle (Uses 9 egg whites)
- Layered Chocolate Meringue Cake (Uses 6 egg whites)
- Chocolate Velvet Pie with Meringue Crust (Uses 3 egg whites)
- Strawberry Souffle Recipe (Uses 4 egg whites)
- Fresh Strawberry Meringue Cake (Uses 7 egg whites)
- Chocolate Meringues (Uses 6-7 egg whites)
- Classic Lemon Meringue Pie
- More Best Dessert Recipes
- More Best Cookie Recipes
There are only four ingredients in these simple meringues! They’re really super easy to put together and will deliciously thrill your palate. I do not add vanilla as it will make these cookies less than pure white, but if that doesn’t bother you, add a quarter teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Other flavorings will work, too.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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Simple Meringue Cookies
Sweet, ethereal, easy meringue recipe made with just 4 simple ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- A pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup sugar, superfine preferred, but not necessary
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 225º Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper.
- Place egg whites into a mixing bowl and beat until frothy. Add the cream of tartar, the pinch of salt, and beat until soft peaks form. With mixer running, slowly add sugar, one tablespoon at a time until sugar is dissolved and stiff peaks form.
- Pipe or scoop tablespoons of the meringue onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing approximately 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 45 minutes, then turn oven off. Without opening the door, let stand in oven for 1 hour (so the total time in the oven is 1 hour, 45 minutes but it's only turned on for the first 45 minutes).
Notes
Once your meringues have cooled to room temperature, store in an airtight container.
Yield varies depending on the size of your meringue cookies.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
2 cookiesAmount Per Serving: Calories: 35Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 20mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 0gSugar: 8gProtein: 1g
141 Comments on “Simple Meringue Cookies”
I love how easy these are to make!! One of our favorite treats!!
What if I don’t have a mixer.Just have a hand mixer. I have 4 eggs whites in fridge. How do you measure 2 egg whites. Really want to make these. Please answer. Thank you.
Hi, Jean,
A hand mixer will work. Just make sure everything is very clean! Oil is the enemy of meringues. I usually break a whole egg and separate it into the yolk and the white by going back and forth in the shells over a bowl. I’m not sure what you mean about having 4 egg whites in the fridge? If they’re in a bowl, you could whisk them together, pour them into a measuring cup and eyeball what half that amount is….and use that much. Or one egg white is about 2 tablespoons so you can measure out 4 tablespoons of what you have. Does that make sense?? Good luck!!!
First time making these! Was hoping to use up the surplus of our farm fresh eggs and found it only takes 2, just TWO, eggs to make these! I also put a little vanilla and lemon extract in the mix and they are SO GOOD!!! Kinda weird, but good. My description would be really stiff cotton candy-ish! I’m going to make more and use more flavors!
Hi, Jen! So glad you enjoyed your meringues—and have fun playing with different flavors 🙂
These turned out perfect! I can’t wait to try out variations, like flavored meringue cookies! Thanks!
My cookies are sticking to the parchment paper
You can spray your parchment with Pam, Sandy. That should help. I use parchment from King Arthur Flour which has almost a glazed coating and nothing ever sticks.
these meringues came out perfectly crunchy and my kid loved it!
What is there not to love about meringues? Yours are exquisite. Your tips are always so helpful.
The meringues brownd to quickly… they tasted half decent but I wouldn’t make them again
Hi, Emily,
Is your oven calibrated? I bet it runs just a little hot. Hope you give them another try as this is a terrific recipe 🙂
I made these tonight I had 3 left over egg whites from making Aioli Mayo I used Erythritol instead of Sugar. A diabetic keto treat. They came out perfect even with the adjustments I made. Mahalo for sharing. Aloha
Thanks for the easy recipe! I made them abs they were perfect
So glad you enjoyed! Thanks for reporting back!!
Making meringue is so fun. I love how smooth and glossy it gets. Thanks for all the helpful hints. The cookies are so cute!
These meringues turned out fabulously. Made sour of the moment for a Valentine’s Day luncheon. Light. Crisp. Delicious!!
I made these cookies yesterday, and they were amazing. The taste of meringue was divine, and the texture was crunchy. My kids loved them.
Thanks!
I’m so glad, Gloria! Thanks so much for taking time to pass along your review 🙂
I love how simple these are, and delicious looking. I can’t wait to make them for my family. Thanks for sharing!