A Meringue Cookie Recipe – Crunchy Clouds of Sweetness!
Meringues cookies are a funny thing – not really a cookie, more like a dehydrated foam. I like to think of them as the first molecular gastronomy experiment. It must have been crazy to see this foamy food back in the 1600’s when meringue first appeared in Francoise Massialot’s cookbook. I can imagine the look on the royal faces (Massialot cooked for French royalty) when they crunched into these crunchy clouds of sweetness. Imagine if Francoise had had liquid nitrogen or agar agar!
Merengue cookie recipes are quite easy to follow. The 2 biggest issues are making sure that no fat contaminates the egg whites, as fat will hinder the egg whites from whipping up, and being sure not to over whip the egg whites. Over whipped egg whites will collapse and do not make good meringue. Using fresh, room temperature eggs will help make the best egg white foam possible. And, no, a copper bowl (or cream of tartar) is not compulsory. They might help, but egg whites will whip nicely on their own. The trick is add the sugar when a really weak peak can be formed that, when the beaters or whisk are lifted, any trail left fades away on its own. Then continue to to whip the egg whites and sugar until the egg white foam can stand up on its own – stiff peaks. Once you have stiff peaks stop or you risk over whipping.
These sweet, crunchy clouds of egg white and sugar are also very easy to flavor. The addition of a bit of cocoa powder or mint extract to a meringue cookie recipe and you can totally remake the plain white vanilla meringue into something even more tasty.
Here is my Chocolate and Vanilla Meringue Cookie Recipe. If you want only chocolate – double the cocoa powder. If you want only vanilla, omit the cocoa powder.
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp of vanilla
- 2/3 of a cup of powdered sugar
- 2 tsp of cocoa powder
- Pre-heat the oven to 300F.
- Using two very clean bowls, separate the eggs by first cracking them on a flat surface, opening the egg and passing the egg back and forth from shell half to shell half until all the egg white falls into one of the bowls. Pour that egg white into large clean bowl. Place the egg yolk in the other bowl and repeat separating all the eggs making sure no yolk contaminates the egg whites as the fat from yolk will hinder the egg whites from whipping well.
- With the egg whites in a large bowl, begin whipping them with a hand mixer or balloon whisk making sure the beaters or whisk are very clean. Whip the egg whites until foamy, about 1 minute.
- When the egg whites are frothy and opaque, add the vanilla and continue whipping until a really weak peak can be formed when the beaters or whisk are lifted and any trail left fades away on its own.
- Add 1 tbsp of the sugar at a time while whisking until the egg whites are dense, creamy looking, and shiny. The egg whites should hold a stiff peak and not fold over on itself. Check progress as you go so as not to over whip.
- Move half of the meringue mixture to another bowl or piping bag fitted with a star tip. Gently fold the cocoa powder into the remaining meringue until it is just incorporated being careful not to deflate the meringues too much. If using piping bags, transfer the chocolate meringue to another piping bag.
- Line a baking tray or cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Spoon or pipe the meringue mixture about a tablespoon at a time.
- Bake the meringues for about 1 -1-1/4 hours or until the meringues are crispy on the outside and release form the parchment easily.
- Let cool and serve.
- If there are left overs, store them in an air-tight container. Meringues are what is called hygroscopic, which means that they take on water from the air. Therefore, they will end up soggy and sticky if left uncovered.
- For mint meringues, replace the the vanilla with non-oil based mint extract. For only chocolate cookies, double the cocoa. For vanilla only cookies, omit the cocoa powder.
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
Do you have a meringue cookie recipe to share? Let us know all about it in the comments or on Facebook.
The Culinary Exchange can also be found on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and YouTube.
Come On! Follow Along!
