Need a new cookie recipe in your life? Light, crispy and airy, these Vanilla Meringue Cookies taste like a crispy marshmallow and melt in your mouth.
I haven’t had a good meringue cookie in a long time, so I thought it was high time to make some for myself. And being that they are only FOUR ingredients, they really could not be easier.
Although the process might be a little bit overwhelming if you’re making them for the first time, we will walk through it step by step. It’s all about oven temperature and whipping the egg whites for enough time.
Meringue Cookies Ingredients
Table of Contents
- Eggs – No egg yolks for this recipe- just the whites. It is important that you use room temperature egg whites. I use 70°F egg whites for meringue cookies. This makes them whip up smoothly and faster.
- Granulated sugar – You can’t have cookies without sugar. Plain white sugar is all we need for the sweet element of these classic meringue cookies.
- Vanilla extract – This recipe makes vanilla cookies, however feel free to sub this out with a different flavored extract. See my notes below for some options.
- Cream of tartar – Cream of tartar stabilizes the egg whites. This speeds up the egg white whipping process and helps make a stable, billowy, glossy meringue.
How to Make Meringue Cookies
- Prepare oven and pan. Preheat the oven; baking slow and at a low temperature makes for crunchy cookies. Line baking sheets with foil. You can also use parchment paper if you’d like.
- Whisk egg whites. Place the egg whites into a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment and start whisking the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed while slowly pouring in the sugar in small amounts
- Add rest of ingredients. Once all the sugar is added, add the vanilla extract and cream of tartar. Whip at medium-high speed until you reach stiff peaks. If you have soft peaks, it hasn’t been whisked long enough. The meringue batter will be glossy and bright white.
- Pipe. Place the meringue mixture into a piping bag or pastry bag and pipe shapes onto the lined baking sheets that are similar in size. You can pipe the meringue cookies about ½ inch apart as the cookies will not spread while baking.
- Bake. Turn the oven off and let them cool for at least 2 hours but I recommend overnight if you can.
Variations
Take this recipe and run with it! It can be custom to your tastes. Add other extracts with the vanilla or take the vanilla out and use different flavors totally. Other extract flavors I recommend: Lemon, Orange, Mint, Strawberry, Banana, Coconut, Almond, or cherry.
You can also dip these meringue cookies in any flavor of melted chocolate you like. Just make sure to use a high quality chocolate so it melts smooth.
The batter can be dyed any color you like, wait until you just about reach stiff peaks then add the food coloring to the color you desire. I recommend using gel food coloring.
The number of cookies you can get out of this recipe really depend on the size they are piped. I got 32 cookies from the batch when I piped most shapes at this size and shape.
Storage and Freezing
These meringue cookies need to be stored in a cool dry place. If it is a humid day outside or in your house they may be a little tacky on the outside. Keeps for up to two weeks at room temperature in an airtight container- no one likes chewy meringues!
They can also be frozen. Freeze them individually on a sheet tray then layer them between pieces of wax paper in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
More easy cookie recipes:
Vanilla Meringue Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites room temp
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°F. Line baking sheets with foil, set aside.
- Place the egg whites into the body of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Start whisking the egg whites on medium-low speed and slowly pour in the sugar.
- Once all the sugar is added, add the vanilla extract and cream of tartar.
- Whip at medium-high speed until you reach stiff peaks. The mixture will be glossy and bright white. This will take a few minutes.
- Place the meringue into a piping bag and pipe shapes onto the foil that are similar in size, about 1 & ½ inches wide and up to 1 & ½ inches tall. You can pipe them about ½ inch apart as the cookies will not spread while baking.
- Bake for 2 hours. Turn the oven off and let them cool for at least 2 hours but I recommend overnight if you can.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Mahy
Those were perfect! Everything I needed from a meringue cookie! Thanks for sharing
Jess
I love that these are only 4 ingredients! Reminds me of my Grandma who would make these all the time. Love that I can make them now and think of her.
Gina
I don’t make these often but wanted to give this recipe a try! Wow they came out amazing. I can’t even tell you how fast they disappeared in my house!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
These are so pretty and I love all the hints and tips in the post to make sure the cookies come out well.
Rachna
These look super light and delicious. I can only imagine how delightful they taste. Will definitely try making them as the recipe looks easy. Thanks for sharing.