Also known as meringue kisses, you can easily make a glossy and beautiful French meringue with nothing but egg white and sugar – in fact, this is one of my favourite ways to use up excess egg whites!
Many recipes for meringue call for cream of tartar – an acidic by-product of winemaking that acts to stabilise whipped egg whites.
Though it is widely available in supermarkets, it’s never something I remember to buy and I tend to make meringues on an impromptu basis. This means that I almost always have egg whites and sugar on hand, but never cream of tartar!
The good news is that this white, acidic powder is not necessary to make great meringues. I know, because I’ve been successful several times over following this exact same method!
How to Make Meringues without Using Cream of Tartar
This is a recipe for French meringue which is the easiest kind of meringue to make. There are two other kinds of meringues that you can make – Swiss meringue and Italian meringue – but neither are as well-suited for baking into kisses.
Italian meringue is the kind that I use when making homemade marshmallows, for instance. This involves whipping egg whites while streaming in a sugar syrup that’s been cooked to a specific temperature (115°C/240°F).
A Swiss meringue is slightly different. It involves mixing egg whites and sugar together, and placing it over a double-boiler until it reaches 115°C/240°F. You can then whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.
Both Italian and Swiss meringues are better suited to using as-is, be that as a topping for a meringue pie or as a base for a buttercream – or marshmallows! This is because they are more stable at room temperature because they’ve been heated.
French meringue isn’t as stable, however, once it’s baked properly, it can stay crisp and fresh for several weeks if stored properly.
To make the meringues, all you need to do is add some egg whites to a large bowl or to the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with a whisk attachment.
Optionally, you can also add a small amount of lemon juice vinegar (I like apple cider or white wine as neither affects the colour of the meringue) to stabilise the egg whites. I rarely do this and I’ve had success with meringues without it, so it’s definitely optional. It’s not there to add any kind of acidity, as it is in something like snickerdoodles.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, whisk the egg whites until they reach soft peaks – meaning that when the whisk is lifted, the point of the foam droops. This should not take long.
With your mixer running, begin slowly adding the sugar. I like to use caster sugar as it dissolves more quickly (you want all of the sugar to be dissolved so the meringues do not weep when baked), but you can use granulated as well. Just be sure it’s completely dissolved before baking.
One tablespoon at a time, add the sugar, ensuring that it’s completely incorporated before adding the next spoonful. Once all of your sugar is added, continue whipping the meringue until it’s glossy and reaches stiff peaks – when the point stands up straight when the whisk is removed.
Rub a small amount of meringue between your fingers to ensure there are no discernible granules of sugar, as well.
Now, to make the kisses. You can use a spoon to make more rustic, free-form kisses or you can pipe them onto a baking sheet.
Dab a bit of meringue onto the corners of your baking sheet and use this as glue to cement some baking paper onto the sheet. Then, pipe (or spoon) some small kisses onto the sheet.
Often, at this stage, I like to scatter some rainbow sprinkles over the cookies to make them bright and kid-friendly!
All you need to do now is move the meringues to a low oven – preheated to 90°C/200°F. Bake them until they’re dry and crisp – about 90 minutes to 2 hours.
When they’re done, simply turn the oven off and leave the meringues in there to slowly cool completely – this ensures that they stay crisp and dry out completely.
Once cooled, the meringues will keep for several weeks if stored in a dry, airtight container. Because they only have egg whites and sugar in them, these biscuits are naturally gluten-free as well. If you want more recipes like this, then you’ll also love my dairy-free coconut macaroons!
Meringue Cookies Without Cream of Tartar
Ingredients
- 90 g (⅓ cup) egg whites room temperature (from about 3 eggs)
- ½ tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
- 150 g (1¼ cup) caster sugar (see note 1)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 90°C/200°F. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg whites and the vinegar, if using. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, start on low speed and then increase until the egg whites are lightly foamy and reach very soft peaks (see note 2).
- Increase the mixer speed and, one tablespoon at a time, slowly add the sugar, ensuring that each addition is incorporated before adding the next. Continue whipping the meringue once all of the sugar is added until it is very glossy, there is no graininess when touched and the mixture holds a stiff peak (see note 3).
- On two rimmed baking sheets, dab a small amount of meringue onto the corners and then press some parchment paper over the meringue, the meringue serving as a glue for the parchment. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag (or use a spoon) and pipe 18 kisses across the 2 baking sheets.
- Move the meringues to the oven – you may position the trays on 2 racks – and bake until dried and crisp – about 2 hours. Turn off the heat but leave the meringues in the oven as it cools down. Once completely cool, the meringues are ready to eat.
Notes
- I recommend using caster sugar (also known as superfine sugar) over granulated as the finer texture dissolves more quickly in the egg whites. However, if all you have is granulated sugar, this will work just fine. Just ensure that there is no grainy texture in the merinque before baking.
- A soft peak means that, when the whisk is lifted, the point droops slightly into itself.
- A stiff peak means that, when the whisk is lifted, the point stays upright and stable.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Making homemade meringue kisses is super simple and completely possible without using cream of tartar! Follow the tips outlined here for success every time.
Do you want to make crisp meringue cookies? Have any questions about this recipe? Let me know in the comments!
