Meringue cookies

These easy chocolate chip meringue cookies look like little clouds, soft and chewy on the inside with a crisp outer shell they melt in the mouth and are loved by young and old at Christmas time or a special occasion.

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Course: Baking

Cuisine: New Zealand

Keyword: meringue cookie recipe, meringue cookies, meringues nz, chocolate chip meringues, christmas meringues

Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten free

Servings: cookies

Calories: 72kcal

RATE THIS RECIPE

5 from 2 votes

Equipment

Stand mixer or an electric hand beater

Ingredients

100 grams egg whites ½ a cup Approximately 4 eggs.
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 pinch salt
100 grams caster sugar Approximately ½ a cup. The key is to use 2 parts sugar for every 1 part egg white. So if your egg whites aren't quite ½ a cup adjust the sugar to suit.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100 grams icing sugar Approximately ½ cup
150 grams chocolate drops Approximately 1 cup

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 110 degrees Celsius (230 F)
Line baking sheets with baking paper
In the bowl of a stand mixer add the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Starting on a low speed whip the egg increasing the speed to medium until the egg white bubbles are small and uniform, and when you lift the beaters soft peaks form. This can take some time, you want to check that all the egg white has been whipped and that there is no liquid egg white in the bottom of the bowl.
Increase the speed to high and begin adding the caster sugar steadily. I do this by adding the sugar a tablespoon at a time until all the sugar has been added.
Once the caster sugar has been added, add the vanilla and beat until stiff peaks have formed.
Remove the mixing bowl from the stand mixer and sift one-third of the icing sugar over the glossy whipped egg whites. Fold this in using a spatula. Repeat with the next third of the icing sugar and then the final third.
Add three-quarters of the chocolate drops to the meringue and carefully fold through.
Spoon large spoonfuls of the meringue onto the lined baking paper to form your meringue cookies.
Top the cookies with a few of the remining chocolate chips.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, before turning off the oven and leaving the meringues in the oven to cool completely.
Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Be sure to leave your meringues in the oven until they are completely cool.
Stick to the ratio of one part egg white to one part caster sugar to one part icing sugar and you will get great meringues. If you have fewer egg whites than 100 grams, then reduce the sugar to match.
When you are separating your eggs be careful to make sure no egg yolk sneaks into your meringue mixture.
Once cool, store your meringue cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Egg whites: The egg whites should be at room temperature and should be completely free of egg yolk. The egg whites can actually be substituted for chilled aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas)
Cream of tartar: The cream of tartar can be left out, the meringues will work without it. Its role in meringues is as a stabiliser and actually speeds up the beating process.
Vanilla Extract: For the best vanilla flavor look for a vanilla extract like this one by Heilala rather than an imitation vanilla essence.

Nutrition