Crunchy, light and sweet, these classic Meringue Cookies only take 5 ingredients and are perfect for your holiday cookie plates.
Holiday cookies will always bring a smile to my face! Every year, these meringue cookies are a must make, along with my favorite sugar cookie recipe, Cranberry Orange Cookies, and Hot Cocoa Cookies.
Easy Meringue Cookies
A long time ago, a bunch of friends in my neighborhood got together for a cookie swap. We each made a plate of cookies, then we split up all the cookies. So you came with your one kind of cookie, and left with a plate of a wide variety of cookies. I always think back to that, and what a great mix of cookies we all ended up with.
Since that cookie swap, every year I think about making the perfect cookie plate. And what cookies I would put on it. I would definitely want something soft, something sprinkled, and definitely something peppermint. And maybe even throw on a few homemade caramels. But you always need something light and crispy, as well, and that is where these Meringue Cookies come in.
For real – I love, love, love these cookies. Maybe they don’t look like much, and they don’t seem very exciting, but I could honestly eat a whole batch of these myself. And probably almost have. They are light, and sweet, and crispy and everything you’d want a meringue cookie to be. And they provide the perfect variety of texture on that cookie plate.
Ingredients
One of the things I love about Meringue Cookies is that they only take 5 ingredients, and they are all super easy to find! All you need is:
- Egg whites – if you have time to let these sit out for 30 minutes, it’s even better.
- Vanilla extract – regular vanilla extract will cause the cookies to have a slight hint of brown to them. If you want to keep them bright white, use clear vanilla.
- Cream of Tartar – this helps to stabilize the egg whites.
- salt – just a dash is all you need!
- sugar – regular granulated works just fine in this recipe!
How to Make Meringue Cookies
This meringue cookie recipe is super simple, but they do take a little bit of time.
- Start by beating together the egg whites, vanilla, cream of tartar and dash of salt. Beat this until it gets frothy.
- Start adding in the sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until you have very stiff peaks.
- Pipe the batter onto a baking sheet.
- Bake for 35 minutes, then leave the cookies in the oven for at least an hour. I think it’s easiest to make these at night then just leave the cookies in the oven all night.
Tips and Tricks
- Climate may affect your cookies. I live in a desert, so I don’t have any problems with soft or gooey cookies. But know that things may go wrong if you live in a more humid area. If you do run into problems with soft or sticky meringues, try baking them just a bit longer.
- Make sure your bowl and your beaters are completely clean – even a small trace of oil might ruin your meringue.
- You want to make sure the sugar has dissolved in the egg whites. You can check this by taking a small amount and rubbing it between your fingers. It should be smooth, not gritty.
- You can test out other extracts, as well.
- Don’t have cream of tartar? You can sub in 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice.
- If you want to add food coloring, do it before you have completely whipped the mixture to stiff peaks. You don’t want to add the coloring and then over-beat. Gel food coloring works the best so that you aren’t adding extra liquid.
- Don’t open the oven at all during the bake time or the time in the oven after.
Storage
Meringue cookies will absorb any of the moisture from the air around them, so it is important to store them properly if you want them to stay crisp.
The best thing to do is to make sure they are completely cooled, then place them in an airtight container. Stored this way, they will last about 2 weeks.
More Christmas cookie recipes
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Spritz Cookies
Chocolate Orange Ricotta Cookies
Chocolate Cherry Sandwich Cookies
Peppermint Sugar Cookies
Tools Used in this Recipe
I use these disposable piping bags. They make clean up so much easier!
To pipe the meringue cookies, I use an Ateco 846 tip.
You could probably make these cookies with a hand mixer, but I’d suggest a stand mixer. It’s much faster and easier, especially since the mixture gets beaten for 7 minutes.
Meringue Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- Dash of salt
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, cream of tartar and salt. Turn the mixer on to high and mix until foamy. Start adding in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Keep beating the mixture until it forms very stiff, glossy peaks, 7-10 minutes.
- Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the meringue into small star cookies, about 1 1/4-inches in diameter. Sprinkle with holiday sprinkles, if desired.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, then turn the oven off, not opening the oven door, and let the cookies sit for at least an hour, or overnight.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container.
Anonymous Baker says
Perfect recipe! looking for something simple and easy to do and ran into this THANKS!!!!!
solene says
Hello,
Why people call them “Cookie”?
Deborah says
I guess because there are a lot of different kinds of cookies, and this is just one kind.
Shelly says
I just made these for Easter tomorrow and they are perfect — light and so crisp! I used lemon extract as suggested by another person and sprinkled a little bit of yellow sugar on top. I know they will be a hit on the dessert table tomorrow. Thank you for sharing the recipe! Happy Easter and Happy Spring!
Linda says
HI…I’m baking for a shower a month away, can these be frozen ?
Thanks !
Deborah says
I don’t think you’d be able to freeze these, because the moisture from them defrosting would most likely ruin them. But they can be made several days in advance, so hopefully that will help!
Tan says
Hi does it mean once these are done, it can be consumed even after 5 days? Would it get hard?
Also once made, where should I store them? Airtight container or in the open or in the room temp or fridge?
Thank you in advance!
Deborah says
The cookies are already crispy, so they won’t get any harder. I stored them just at room temperature in a container with a loose lid over the top. If you store them in the fridge, they will get soft and sticky.
Joy says
I am addicted to these meringues! My 103-year-old mother often made these whenever she baked and the oven was hot. FYI: She froze “kisses” in a large glass jar until we came to visit.
vy huynh says
Hi,
When I add sprinkle to the cookie and bake it, the results come out that the sprinkle melts and make the cookie look bad. Do you know how I can fix it to get a nice cookie?
Deborah says
Are you mixing the sprinkles into the batter or sprinkling them on top?
Lauren says
Would love to hear how you did your sprinkles – did you do them post-bake and after the hour minimum in the oven? Do the sprinkles stick to them at that point?
Deborah says
I added the sprinkles before baking. Because they bake at such a low temperature, they will hold up great. If you wait until they are done, the cookies will be too dry for the sprinkles to stick.
Li says
Hi, what would you suggest for substituting for granulated sugar in this recipe?
By the way, I absolutely love this recipe; I’ve made it so many times already.
Deborah says
I have only made them with granulated sugar, so I’m not sure of a good substitution. Sorry!
Anne Carpenter says
And I barely followed your recipe, but had those left over whites (6) and I used almond flavor…the real stuff, and they are unreal!
Lisa says
I made creme pat and had a bunch of egg whites left over. I hated to throw them out so I used them to make your recipe. They turned out great!
Deborah says
Yay! I’m so glad that they turned out well!
dakota ryan says
is there any way to make these chocolate?
Deborah says
I’m sure you probably could, but I haven’t tried it. I would probably start by adding some cocoa powder, and maybe some mini chocolate chips.
Lynn says
I learned to make these with my grandmother decades ago. We Added chocolate chips To the bowl after the meringue was done. Fold in gently. I learned to drop them from a spoon on brown paper. I have never piped them from a pastry bag but Pastry bags and I don’t get along.
Eviline says
I’ve used mini chips, but then I use 2 spoons. No pastry bag. I’ve also crushed candy cane.
Sydney Hansen says
I’m just wondering if there’s a set amount of sugar needed or if you just keep adding a tablespoon until the batter gets peaks. Thanks!!
Deborah says
Hi Sydney – you will use the 2/3 cup sugar, just adding it in 1 tablespoon at a time until it has all been added.
Jennifer says
Making these for PreK class this week! Growing up my mom called them forgotten cookies – put ’em in the oven and forget them!
Deborah says
What a fun name!!
JenB says
Just don’t really forget about them … we’ve left them in, and then one of the kids turned the oven on to preheat for something else … oops!
Deborah says
Oh no!!!! I can totally see that happening to me – haha.
Angel says
Can I add food coloring to this meringue recipe?
Deborah says
You can!
Dorothy A Wild says
PLEASE LIST ‘HOW MANY’ COOKIES YOUR RECIPE MAKES;THANKS.
Deborah says
Hi Dorothy – the recipe should make about 74 cookies, depending on how big you pipe them. The amount is listed on the recipe card. I hope you love them!
Darlene says
Can you use store brought egg whites?
ADRI says
Yes!
Linda Harrison says
You CAN use store bought egg whites. I put crushed graham crackers on top instead of sprinkles.
Monet says
So beautiful! I'm off to check this out because i've never made meringue cookies before! Thank you for sharing. I hope you have a lovely afternoon, my friend!
Georgia (The Comfort of Cooking) says
I've never made meringues but have always wanted to try. I'm off to go check out your post! Thanks for sharing. Also, I’m having a cookies and cookbook giveaway today that you should enter!
Gina says
Perfect! My mom asked me to make her meringues for Christmas and I needed a recipe. Thanks!