Meringue Cookies

These baked meringue cookies are crisp, sweet, & light as a cloud! Plus, lots of tips on how to make meringue that’s stiff and fluffy as can be.

HOW TO MAKE MERINGUE

The overall idea of meringue is pretty simple. It’s really just egg whites and sugar whipped together until fluffy and stiff.

I like to add a few other ingredients as well, such as cream of tartar to make the meringue more stable, vanilla extract, and salt to balance the flavors.

If you want to make meringue without cream of tartar, just sub in a few drops of lemon juice or white vinegar. They all pretty much do the same thing.

And you can get creative with flavors too. Vanilla isn’t the only option! Try adding almond extract, rosewater, lemon, or  orange blossom water for example. You could even fold in freeze dried fruit (like raspberries) that’s been ground to a powder in the food processor.

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites (large)
• 1/4 teaspoon lime juice ( cream of tartar*)
• 1/4 teaspoon  salt
• 1 cup Powder sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract**
• 1 drop icing color (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 90 degrees F. 
2. Place the egg whites in a large, clean mixing bowl, and add the Lime juice( cream of tartar) and salt.
3. Whip the whites on medium speed until foamy and just beginning to turn white.
4. While continuing to whip, add in the sugar very slowly (about 1/4 teaspoon at a time). 
5. When all the sugar has been added, turn the mixer up to high speed and whip until the meringue is glossy and very stiff. 
6. Stir in the vanilla extract, then fold in the color (if using). 
7. Transfer the meringue to a clean piping bag fitted with a French star tip, and pipe 1-inch diameter kisses onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. 
8. Bake the meringues in the warm oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until light and crisp (do not brown). 
9. Serve immediately.