Easy Meringue Cookies
Preview: These easy meringue cookies are such a simple cookie to make and a wonderful way to use up those extra egg whites you might have.
Do have recipes that need egg yolks? If so what do you do with the leftover egg whites?
While angel food cake is a popular recipe to use up the extras, most recipes need 12 egg whites to make a full cake. I don’t usually have that many.
But did you know you can freeze those egg whites for later? And once you have 4 egg whites, you can make this easy meringue cookie recipe to use them up.
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Meringue cookies have often been thought of as being a difficult cookie to make. I want to dispel that myth right now. As long as you use clean, grease-free bowls and utensils, I think you will be shocked at how easy they are to make.
They only require 4 ingredients-egg whites, sugar, vanilla extract and cream of tarter. You’ve probably already got the first three ingredients in your kitchen.
The cream of tarter can be found in your local grocery store with the spices. It’s very inexpensive and will keep for a long time in your pantry.
Cream of tarter helps stabilize the meringue in this recipe. While there are recipes that don’t use it, cream of tarter makes it much more likely that you will succeed with this recipe.
In this recipe, I used almond extract too, which makes this a 5-ingredient recipe. We love almond flavoring. However, if you don’t enjoy that flavor (or you are allergic) you could just use another teaspoon of vanilla extract.
You can also experiment with other extracts such as lemon or orange, though your meringue cookies won’t be as light and airy. The natural oils in these extracts will tend to deflate the meringue somewhat.
Making Pretty Meringue Cookies
To pipe meringue cookies, I highly recommend using a disposable piping bag. (The bags I’ve linked to also come with several decorating tips if you don’t have those.) If there is any remaining greasy residue from cake decorating icing, it can cause the meringues to deflate. I also used a star tip to do the piping, and while it looks fancy, it’s really easy to do.
However, if you don’t want to bother with a piping bag, you can just plop the meringue on the parchment with a spoon. They may not look quite as pretty, but they will still taste great.
I love to add sprinkles to my meringue cookies. I guess it’s because I’m a kid at heart. Even though my kids are older, I still add sprinkles to everything I can.
Adding sprinkles is the perfect way to dress up these cookies for the holidays or any other occasion. You can find Christmas sprinkles, sprinkles to match your favorite team for game day, or unicorn sprinkles for a girl’s birthday party. I even found these sprinkles that don’t contain artificial food coloring.
This recipe for easy meringue cookies will work best when baked on a dry day. However, a little rain hasn’t ever stopped me from baking them. Just know they won’t last as long with the humidity. That just means they need to be eaten more quickly.
They look beautiful on a Christmas cookie tray since they are a nice bright white against the typical browns of most cookies. If you are gifting these with other cookies, be sure to wrap these separately though. Otherwise, they will absorb moisture from the other cookies and not be crisp.
Easy Meringue Cookies
You can find a printable copy of this recipe at the bottom of the post.
Ingredients:
- 4 egg whites
- 1/2 tsp. cream of tarter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- sprinkles, optional, but highly recommended
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
- Whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tarter and continue beating until mixed.
- Add sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time, while continuing to whip. Once mixture is stiff, add extracts. Whip to incorporate.
- Place meringue mixture in a piping bag and pipe onto parchment lined sheet pan. Add sprinkles if desired. Bake at 225 degrees for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes, turn oven off. Do NOT remove meringues. Allow meringues to sit in the oven, undisturbed, for at least an hour. Remove and enjoy.
- Meringues will keep for about a week in an airtight container. Moisture will cause them to soften.
I hope you’ll give these easy meringue cookies a try. I would also love to know what your favorite cookie is to put on your Christmas cookie tray.
If you are looking for more ways to use up the eggs from your chickens, here is how to hard boil your fresh eggs so they peel easily.
Related Posts
- Oven Scrambled Eggs – A great way to cook eggs for a crowd or for Christmas morning.
- Recipes that use hard-boiled eggs
- Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries – A delicious candy for Christmas or Valentine’s Day.
Easy Meringue Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites
- 1/2 tsp. cream of tarter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- sprinkles, optional, but highly recommended
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
- Whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tarter and continue beating until mixed.
- Add sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time, while continuing to whip. Once mixture is stiff, add extracts. Whip to incorporate.
- Place meringue mixture in a piping bag and pipe onto parchment lined sheet pan. Add sprinkles if desired. Bake at 225 degrees for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes, turn oven off. Do NOT remove meringues. Allow meringues to sit in the oven, undisturbed, for at least an hour. Remove and enjoy.
- Meringues will keep for about a week in an airtight container. Moisture will cause them to soften.
Meet Julie
I’m a farm girl born and bred in North Carolina. I’ve been growing a vegetable garden for over 20 years (and helping my Mom grow hers even longer). I’ve been raising chickens in my bathtub and backyard for 12+ years. I believe that homegrown food can be made simple. Let’s get started.
