Meringues are a light and crunchy naturally gluten-free dessert that melt in your mouth. Better yet? Mine are made with only two ingredients –egg whites and maple syrup.
Meringue cookies are fun, yet elegant, pleasing both young and old; my children and their friends devour them. So does my husband. We’ll be serving my quick and easy Meringues at our Passover Seder, along with my egg-free Macaroons, in order to give everyone with food restrictions loads of options.
If you’re not Jewish, these meringues are also a wonderfully springy, light, and festive Easter dessert.
Meringues
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- ½ cup maple syrup
Instructions
- In a medium pot combine egg whites and maple syrup
- Turn flame on stove to lowest setting possible
- Using a hand blender with whisk attachment, whisk meringues in pot on stove
- Whisk 4-5 minutes total, until stiff glossy peaks form
- Fit a pastry bag with a ⅜-inch round tip (ateco #804) and fill bag with meringue
- Pipe meringue kisses 1-inch in diameter onto parchment paper lined baking sheets
- Bake at 200°F for 2 hours
- Allow to cool for 1 hour
- Serve
Equipment
This meringue cookie recipe is based on the meringue frosting recipe in my first book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.
If you don’t want to be fussy and mess with a pastry bag you can drop this meringue mixture one large spoonful at a time onto a parchment lined baking sheet. One of the best things about these delicious, melt-in-your mouth meringues is that you don’t need to own a stand mixer to make them, you can make them like I did with a cheap hand mixer using the whisk attachment.
Another note on these gluten-free meringues –I tried making them with honey and they had an overly sweet cloying taste, my entire family preferred the ones I made with maple syrup, in fact, the boys would not eat the meringues made with honey.
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If you’re wondering what to do with all those extra egg whites when you make my Chocolate Pots de Creme, use this Meringue recipe. According to Martha Stewart, meringues can be made 5 days ahead and stored in a cool, dry place at room temperature.
mela says
They are amazing!!! but we try not to use parchment paper. Any idea how to stop them from sticking? thanks mela
Elana says
Mela, thanks for your comment! I haven’t tried making these without using parchment paper so not sure about that. I’m so happy to hear these are amazing!
Elizabeth says
Silicone baking mats are another option.
I know this only helps if you’re trying to reduce waste, and isn’t helpful if you’re avoiding silicone.
Elana says
Thanks Elizabeth :-)
Stacy says
Hi Elana,
I was wondering if you have a recipe for holiday meringues? Maybe flavored or colored. I just wondered how you would flavor it if you use maple syrup. I make them with maple syrup and my family loves them, but I’d like to make them for a holiday cookie exchange. Any ideas so they don’t taste like maple?
Elana says
Stacy, thanks for your comment! Yes I do:
https://elanaspantry.com/marthas-coffee-meringue-acorns/
Enjoy!
Elana
Lynda says
Good morning Elena,
This recipe is awesome and so easy to do but can you tell me why, some times, they taste more like the chocolate bar Crunchies than meringue ? Thank you (for all the excellent recipes).
Elana says
Lynda, they have tasted like meringues to us every time I’ve made them so not sure :-)
Lynda says
No problem…. the taste is still very good but not as crispier… more like taffy (you undertand when I talked about the Crunchies bar ? I did not find the translation for “tire éponge”). Overcooked ?
Elana says
Lynda, if you turn off the oven and leave them in for a while longer they’ll get crispy :-)
Lynda Favron says
Good Morning,
Me again… did you ever try to freeze ot? This recipe is so popular with friends and family that I want to make a very big recipe for everybody. I search on the web and did not find the answer and with you experience… maybe you know !!! Thank you.
Elana says
Lynda, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do experiment I hope you’ll let me know if it works :-)
Sharon says
Trying with sugar free torani caramel. In the oven now. Will let you know results. Can’t wait to eat.
Elana says
Thanks Sharon!
LindaRose says
Hi Elena, I just tried whipping 2 batches of meringues because the first just didn’t whip up. Guess what the second batch didn’t whip up either. Any idea why egg yolks wouldn’t whip up??
Puzzled!
Elana says
Linda, yes happy to help. This recipe calls for egg whites :-)
Linda says
Sorry, my Lyme’s brain is getting the best of me these days, I meant egg whites wouldn’t whip up in two separate occasions. And the batch I made the week before whipped up and cooked well. However, next morning were all soft and gooey. I love your books I have them all.
Elana says
Linda, thanks for the update! I’ve found that sometimes on very humid days egg whites can be very stubborn when it comes to whipping up properly. I’m glad they were a success the first time. When it comes to keeping the meringues, remember, they are hydroscopic, meaning they absorb moisture. So if you live in a humid climate, as soon as the meringues are completely cooled, store them in an airtight container with a piece of paper towel crumbled to the side (to absorb any extra moisture) and keep in a cool part of your kitchen or pantry :-)
Hannah says
Well, I did not really believe that it would make fifty. If I wanted to get fifty I figured I would have to make them the size of a hershey kiss. Well, not so. I made them that size, and it turned out I had over 100!!! I made these the night before valentines day and the family LOVED them! Thanks so much Elana for posting this!!!! Amazing!
I don’t have a hand mixer so I actually just whisked it by hand and it worked fine… my hand did not even get very tired! :) I did use Maple Syrup and want to try it with honey! Thanks again!
Elana says
Hannah, thanks for your lovely comment! I’m thrilled to hear your family LOVED the meringues!
JO says
Hi Elana is this 200 F or C? can I have both please
Elana says
Jo, this temperature is 200F. Here’s a temperature conversion chart for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/temperature-conversion-chart/
Enjoy!
Elana
LT says
Love this recipe Elana! Made them for my son’s class as an alternative to bought sweets and they were a hit!
Came out perfectly first time and trying them again tonight.
Just want to thank you for all your recipes, we’ve made your cookies and cupcakes and they’ve all been delicious and a great alternative for our wheat free son.
Elana says
LT, so great to hear these were a hit!
Noelle says
The honey oozed out of mine during baking, what did I do wrong?? :(
Elana says
Noelle, honey does not work well for these meringues, best results will come from the use of maple syrup as listed in the recipe :-)
Alia says
If I want to use this recipe to make one or two large pavlovas, should I alter the temperature or baking time?
Elana says
Alia, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do please let us know if it works!