How To Make French Meringue (2024)

• Recipes
• Desserts
• Cookies

updated Jun 9, 2019

With a crisp outer shell, slightly chewy center, and a subtle sweetness, baked meringue is a melt-in-your-mouth delight.

Jump to Recipe

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

So simple and pure, meringue makes for the lightest, almost cloud-like cookies and pastries. With a crisp outer shell, slightly chewy center, and a subtle sweetness, baked meringue is a melt-in-your-mouth delight. It’s also extremely versatile — after mastering the basics of how to whip meringue, you’ll be making these underrated cookies for almost any occasion.

An Argument for Meringue

Sure, meringue might not be as popular as the almighty chocolate chip cookie or as drool-worthy as a chewy chocolate brownie, but I’ll bet you can’t eat just one meringue cookie.

Meringue is the heavenly, airy alternative to all those other heavy, sugary, buttery cookies; it’s guaranteed to brighten your day after that first crisp bite. Toss in some ground spices, add a swirl of food coloring, or sprinkle some shaved almonds over top — you can transform plain meringue into a dainty, whimsical treat that’s a total crowd-pleaser.

What Makes a Meringue

Made from just sugar and egg whites (and a few other optional ingredients for flavoring), turning meringue into delicate cookies is quite simple. First you whip the egg whites until frothy, then start whipping in the sugar. Keep whipping until the meringue holds tall, sturdy peaks when you lift the whisk out of the bowl. After that, all you have to do is bake the meringue low and slow until totally crisp.

Since there are so few ingredients and instructions, it is important to follow everything closely. Let’s take a closer look at some tips and tricks for whipping up a proper meringue, as well as some things to avoid.

Tips for Whipping Egg Whites

For maximum volume, it is important to keep your egg whites and all of your equipment as free from fat as possible. This means no grease in your mixing bowl and no drips of egg yolk in the whites. Try using glass, stainless steel, or copper mixing bowls; avoid plastic bowls since they can be porous and hold grease. In addition to being free from grease, make sure the mixing bowl and whisk are both dry.

What should you do if a bit of yolk ends up in your whites? Try to fish the yolk out as best as possible. A tiny drip of yolk probably won’t keep your whites from whipping, but it may take longer to do so. Break a whole yolk in your whites? You are probably best off starting over.

Room-temperature eggs whip up better than cold ones. After separating the egg whites from the yolks, let them rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before whipping.

To make sure the sugar dissolves completely, add it in very gradually. You will want to avoid dumping in a large amount at one time. In the end, the meringue should be silky and not at all grainy (which would mean you still have undissolved sugar). Rub a little between your fingers — it should feel totally smooth and creamy.

To help stabilize the meringue, mix in a bit of cream of tartar. It might not increase the volume of the meringue, but it will help keep it from breaking down to0 quickly.

What to Avoid When Making Meringue

As mentioned, make sure no fat comes into contact with your egg whites, either in the form of egg yolk or residual grease. Although difficult to do, try not to over-whip the egg whites. Once they reach stiff peaks, stop the mixer; the meringue should be glossy.

To avoid cracks and unnecessary browning in your baked meringues, be sure that your oven is fully warmed, but not actually too hot before baking the meringue — it’s best to use an oven thermometer to check the temperature.

If possible, also try to avoid baking meringues on humid or rainy days. If so, you may need to increase the baking time and let them completely dry out before using or storing.

Piping Meringue into Shapes and Sizes

Meringue can simply be scooped out onto a baking sheet with a soup spoon or a cookie scoop to make rustic, billowy cookies, or you can pipe it for neater, more uniform cookies. Try using a plain or star tip to pipe out meringue “kisses.” For rosettes, pipe the meringue in a tight coil.

This same meringue can also be used to make pavlova. Draw a ring on a piece of parchment paper and use a large spoon to scoop the meringue into a round shape on the baking sheet. Use the back of the spoon to hollow out the center to create a large “bowl” of meringue. To make a finished pavlova, fill the baked meringue bowl with pastry or whipped cream and fresh fruit! To make individual pavlovas, pipe out mini meringue “nests.”

Switching up Meringue Flavors and Toppings

An assortment of flavor extracts and toppings can easily change up a basic meringue recipe. Use pure extract like rose, peppermint, or hazelnut, or replace the vanilla extract with the seeds of whole vanilla beans. Sift cocoa powder or cinnamon into finished meringue, or fold in ground pistachios, chopped chocolate, freeze-dried fruit, or coconut flakes before baking. To color meringue, use gel food coloring.

Be sure not to go overboard with the extra flavorings — especially liquids. Meringue are meant to be light, simple treats, and too much of any additional ingredient may break down the meringue before it bakes.

Filed in: