A great classic cookie for any occasion and they'll be gone before you know it!
They do need some time to prepare and bake in the oven but once you baked them they'll be super easy!
For this recipe there are two versions. A sweeter version with vanilla and one requiring a lot less sugar with lemon extract. The sweeter cookies will have a sweetness to them similar to store bought meringues.
Ingredients for less sweet meringue cookies
250g egg whites (approximately 9 eggs)
125g powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Lemon extract (I used about 15 drops)
Ingredients for sweet meringue cookies
250g egg whites (approximately 9 eggs)
400g powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- First you'll need to make sure your bowl is grease free and wipe it down with a paper towel. Weigh your egg whites and powdered sugar in separate bowls. Mix cream of tartar with powdered sugar.
- Preheat your oven to 100°C.
- Start beating the egg whites with a stand mixer or hand mixer on low speed. When it gets foamy continue beating on medium high speed until your egg whites start to form very soft peaks. This can take some time, so using a stand mixer would be less tiring than a hand mixer.
- Start adding powdered sugar and cream of tartar mix slowly 1 dessert spoon at a time. Keep beating egg whites until they form very stiff peaks. This'll take several minutes depending on your eggs. Add extract.
- Divide your meringue in seperate bowls and add food colouring. Fold meringue until a uniform colour forms. Don't beat the mixture, just fold or your meringue will collapse.
- Put your meringue in a piping bag or use a spoon to form blobs on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven and bake for 1 to 2 hours.
Baking time heavily depends on the size of your meringue. They should be a tiny bit sticky from the inside or keep them in longer for a crunchy inside as well.
- After baking don't immediately open the oven or they'll crack. Keep the oven door ajar for an hour until they cool down and set.
Bon appetit!
Meringue cookies are delicious as is but you can just as easily add them to ice cream, dip in chocolate or decorate your cakes with them!
Stored in air tight containers they keep for 2 weeks.
If you're pregnant be sure to bake them thoroughly or use store bought pasteurized egg whites.
Tip: Over whipped your egg whites and they look chalky and weird? Add 1 egg white and beat again.
