Chocolate Meringue Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making meringue? ›

Gradually add maple syrup or granulated sugar and cream of tartar and increase speed to medium-high. Whisk until stiff peaks form for about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 tbsp of cacao powder and whisk for another 30 seconds until fully combined.

Italian meringue is generally considered to be the most stable of the meringues (which makes it suitable for making frosting too), but also, the most difficult to make of the three meringue types.

The recipe for Swiss meringue is slightly different since it consists of egg whites "cooked" by a sugary syrup whipped in a bain-marie. As a result, the Swiss meringue has much less volume than the French meringue but is smoother and silkier and crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Meringue rules: The final verdict

Abide — Avoid yolks; use a non-plastic bowl; add sugar slowly, and bake low and slow. Let slide — Don't pull your hair out if your eggs are cold, you don't have superfine sugar, or it's a humid day.

It can be made with any sugar. One cup of superfine sugar or packed brown sugar is equal to 1 cup of granulated sugar; 1-3/4 cups powdered sugar equals 1 cup granulated. Superfine sugar may dissolve more readily and produce a smoother glossier meringue, but volume will not be as great.

Meringues can have a softer centre, depending on time/temperature of baking/drying (moisture retention = softer centre), but they won't be chewy. Chewy meringues, or pavlovas, have cornflour and vinegar added, which helps create that chewy centre.

I heat the oven to relatively high, then turn it right down as soon as the meringue is in, so it puffs up.” As Lepard says, “You are not so much cooking meringue as drying it out, so there's no great mystery to a chewy one: just cook it for less time than you normally do.”

Cornstarch: Cornstarch is an excellent way to foolproof your meringue. Use it to create added fluff and keep your hard-won volume from shrinking. Cream of Tartar: Often added in when making meringues, acidic cream of tartar provides lift and stabilization.

What is the difference between Italian meringue and normal meringue? ›

Like most meringue recipes, Italian meringue starts with sugar, water and egg whites. The main difference is that the Italian method melts the sugar and water together to create a syrup before slowly adding in the egg whites and whipping the mixture to stiff peaks.

In simpler terms, sugar binds with water and holds it in place. It also adds viscosity to the liquid whites, making the bubbles more stable. Add an Acid: Adding an acid like lemon juice, cream of tartar, or even vinegar raises pH, helping to denature some of the egg protein.

Cream of tartar stabilizes the tiny bubbles in the egg whites, by precluding the egg proteins from sticking together. It thus speeds up the egg white whipping process and contributes to a stable, billowy, glossy meringue, perfect for cookies, topping pies, and folding into cake.

Meringue cookies are baked at a very low heat for a long time. Another name for them is forgotten cookies, as they can be left in an oven for a long time after the cooking is done. They are not supposed to become tan at all, but they need to be very crisp and dry.

Maybe the meringue whipped too long, cooling to well below 75°F (24°C). Maybe the butter came straight from the fridge. Maybe your buttercream was even frozen in advance, but didn't fully thaw. Doesn't matter why—if your Swiss meringue buttercream looks dense and greasy (or even tastes that way), it's simply too cold.

The cornflour and vinegar that is added strengthens the egg white and make it more stable and you get the marshmallowy centres from the shorter cooking time.

There are some reasons why the egg whites that you are using for making meringue do not stiffen: You did not whisk it long enough. It might have been over-mixed. The container or the whisk that you used to make the meringue is dirty.