Vanilla Meringue Cookie Recipe

This recipe has been in my family for years and my grandchildren love it and make it all the time. We always add 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. My grandmother would also add chopped red and green cherries for the holidays. I'm not sure if they were candied (dried) or not but they probably were. They were colorful but I love the chocolate chips best. She also added 1/4 t. almond extract but I think that's optional.

Beth

Have you tried using the liquid from chickpeas (aquafaba)??? :O There seems to be a movement towards doing this..I'm guessing more protein? Justwondered.http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/06/10…

Ilene

Hey, Snack Girl, thank you for the meringue cookie recipe ! It sounds (and looks) easy and wonderful. Every year we make houses out of chocolate covered graham crackers ...have been doing it for more years than I care to remember. lol. They look beautiful, but, oh, so much work! I have been thinking about making something different for our friends and our neighbors next year and now I think that I have the solution!

Now, if I can only convince my husband! The houses were his idea and he made them for years while I stood by and watched.

But since he has lost his eyesight it is now my work but he still comes up with the ideas.

Leah

Leah Matheson

This sounds great, but I have a couple questions. Could you add food coloring and if using chocolatte chips, when would you add them? Thank you!

Phyllis Farren Christiaens

There was an interesting post recently on Fooducate about aquafaba. The gist of it was to stay with egg whites for more protein and fewer carbs.

Beth B

Love meringues. Yum and thank you! I have done a bit of experimenting with chickpea liquid. 2 thoughts: Like anything else, it won't be an exact taste replica. Also, don't used canned chickpeas for sweet aquafaba projects. There's an unwanted taste for my tongue, even if I buy the insanely pricey unsalted ones.

Jan

I don't eat sugar so wonder if I can use Splenda instead of sugar. Less calories and controlled diabetes

Pam

Can Stevia be used instead of sugar? My husband has diabetes.

Thanks.

Ellen

Thank you snack-girl for the vanilla merengue cookie . I'm going to try it.

Axel velez

I've wondered about stevia, too, for those who can't have sugar. I hope someone knows the answer. Snack Girl, do you?

Beth B

Splenda?? I don't use Stevia. Years ago I'd substitute Splenda in muffins, frosting, cupcakes, etc. and it worked. The finished product was softer but delicious

Pam

Great cookies. Bad me: I added 1/4 C each chocolate chips, bourbon-soaked raisins, and pecans. Oh my. But I did make them small and still only got 52 cookies.

Jan

Hi! If you don't have a piping bag with a star tip, is there another way to make these into some type of cookie shape? Thanks!

Beth

These look great! I have lost a lot of weight and gave up sugar. I think I will try with stevia or Splenda. Just not sure of how much to use.

Belinda Stubbs

I used to make these all of the time when I lived up north. It's a little bit harder now that I have moved to Florida. (Humidity is the enemy of meringues!) You can use any kind of granulated sweetener instead of sugar. I would not use any liquid sweetener as it will change the texture considerably and your egg whites may have the proper texture that is needed. You can add in all sorts of things. I like to use different extracts, for example, a few drops of peppermint and some mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Then sprinkle crushed candy canes on top before baking. You don't need a star tip, although it does make them look pretty. You can put them in a ziploc bag and cut off a corner and drop little blobs (as if you're making an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen.) However they are shaped, they will bake exactly the way they are placed on a cookie sheet, they do not expand. To dress up the blobs, sprinkle a little pinch of colored sugar on top of them. You could also make them into little mushrooms! Thanks for the healthy recipe reminder, Snack girl. Love your posts!

Bitty

Thank you for posting gluten free recipes! This and the Almond Clouds. Good way to use left over egg whites.

Joan

I used to make meringue cookies all the time. Now I live in Florida. For whatever reason, might be humidity, egg whites don't go into the right consistency regardless of how long you beat them. Any suggestions?

Marilyn

I love these - where I come from we call them soopies.

Giselle

I make meringues although I am in north Florida. You have to pick a low-humidity day, as you would if you want to make nougat. (first time I did that in the summer I had nougat soup!!)

But Splenda might give you styrofoam instead of meringue. Try a small batch first.

We always added ground almonds or ground pecans; oh, yum, and almond flavoring instead of vanilla. When Mom added chocolate, it was cocoa or ground chocolate. Just dump it in gently after the meringue is beaten, just before putting onto the cookie sheet. Just until you have enough that it's the right color, or tastes good.

Also, I do them the old-fashioned (lazy, that is) wsy, just drop blobs off a spoon.

Diane

Then you beat them with the vanilla, cream of tartar, and a dash of salt except tuntil foamy. What does "except tuntil foamy" mean?

JJ

I have this recipe from my mother and love it! Also put sprinkles on top before baking for the holidays!

Peggy

My kids and I had so much fun making these last night. They turned out beautifully -- even on the first try -- and they taste waaay better than the store-bought ones. I imagine they might be fun to float atop a cup of hot cocoa. What an easy, yummy recipe. Thanks, Lisa!

Mary

I made these last weekend . They're pretty AND delicious! I also do a peppermint version where it's essentially the same recipe, minus the vanilla, with crushed candy canes sprinkled over the meringues before they're baked. They're the perfect item to balance out some of the more decadent cookies I make this time of year, and my family loves them! (For anyone wondering if you can do meringues without a piping bag - yes, you can. I just dolloped my peppermint ones onto the baking tray with a small spoon for years. They weren't quite as pretty, and it's trickier to control the size of the meringue, but it worked fine in a pinch. Snack Girl gave me the courage to try the piping bag this year!)

Kathryn

My mom used to make these every year at Christmas. I believe she added crushed pecans. I'm making these today using your recipe; hoping they come out good! With only having a hand mixer, I had to beat about 25 minutes. We live in Florida and have never had a problem making meringues. :)

Sally

I have made these for years and it works ok without piping. I just spoon the batter onto the tray and it look cute with the little meringue peaks. Not as pretty as the piping, but I am a lazy cook. :-)

Cheryl Horihan

Like the question above - I don’t have a piping bag either. Can you just drop by teaspoons on the parchment paper and bake? I know they won’t be as pretty but they would be for me after an afternoon of baking for others.

Vicki

That's what I do and it's fine.

Jan

Thank you Snack Girl for the easy to follow recipe for Meringue Cookies. They turned out better than I expected. Not much preparation time, will add to my "Bake Often" batch of recipes.

Karel Taylor

LOL!! These are the best cookies ever - cookies of my childhood. SO good, in fact, that I once ate half the batter thinking my mother would not know. Ha. We called them Cloud Cookies.

Karen M Johnson

I also live in Florida. Meringues don't like humidity. However, if you make these and then work very quickly with your oven door open and you popping these into the container and sealing it, it works. You however must choose the lowest humidity day you can, or else turn on the air conditioning. Meringues here actually work better in summer, when your AC is drying out the house.

Diane

I have made these with my gluten-free dairy free granddaughter and we use mini dairy free chocolate chips and just drop them by teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheet. She loves to make them.

Mardi

Cream of Tatar, hate the stuff, what can I substitute it for?

Penny

Can't wait to make these as Christmas gifts

Amelia Stelmach

These look great! any way to add cocoa powder instead of vanilla? and granulated splenda?

Maryellen Webb