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Authentic French Meringues

Discover the techniques for making beautiful meringues. See more

READY IN 3+ hrs

Authentic French Meringues

Read Reviews (210)

"Authentic French Meringues from a patisserie in France." — RANDYVH

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Sugar and Sweeteners

Original recipe makes 3 dozen Change Servings

4 egg whites

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

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Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Butter and flour a baking sheet.
In a glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer. Sprinkle in sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whip at medium speed. When the mixture becomes stiff and shiny like satin, stop mixing, and transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag. Pipe the meringue out onto the prepared baking sheet using a large round tip or star tip.
Place the meringues in the oven and place a wooden spoon handle in the door to keep it from closing all the way. Bake for 3 hours, or until the meringues are dry, and can easily be removed from the pan. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature.

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PREP 20 mins
COOK 3 hrs
READY IN 3 hrs 20 mins

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There are two types of meringue; soft and hard. The difference between the two is the amount of sugar added to the egg whites. Soft meringue is made with only a small amount of sugar and is used as a topping for pies and cakes. The more sugar in the recipe the crisper the cookie will be. If you cut too far back on the sugar the cookies will be more like marshmallows. Hope this helps clear up the sugar debate.

—Moe

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Oct 29, 2010

I really don't like giving poor ratings and reviews, but I felt like I needed to give a heads-up to people who might be considering using this recipe. I don't understand all the great reviews and wonderful results people supposedly got with this recipe. My meringue NEVER got past the stage where it looked like melted marshmallow creme. I let it whip in my Kitchenaid for about 15 minutes and watched it the entire time, so I know I didn't "over-beat" it. I added the sugar about 2 Tbs at a time, letting each addition fully blend in before adding more. There was no way I could pipe this into anything but a puddle on the baking sheet, so I ended up using the "Peppermint Meringues" recipe instead, omitting the crushed candy canes. That recipe has cream of tartar in it, which I think really is necessary for getting the meringue nice and stiff (every lemon meringue pie recipe I've ever made called for cream of tartar in the meringue).

—Keri

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245 Ratings

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Apr 06, 2006

I am in school for baking and pastry and this is the closest thing I have seen yet to how I have learned to make meringues properly. My suggestion for those of you having problems with it taking so long to make would be to let the eggs reach room temp before you try to whip them. It makes the whipping process go much faster.

—Chef in Training

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Sep 06, 2006

These are just like the gourmet meringues you buy at the specialty grocery stores. They are soo yummy! I used 1 tsp vanilla extract and increased sugar by 1/4 cup to make up for the added liquid. I also set my oven to 185, instead of putting a spoon in the door. It worked great. Next time I will definitely add a different flavor or chocolate chips! Also, I used parchment paper on the pan instead of butter and flour. This is a much better way to go because they fall right off the paper and you have no residue on the bottom of the cookie.

—JKERNS81

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Mar 04, 2006

Foolproof and delicious. DO NOT REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR. The only thing that I did differently was that I scraped half of a vanilla bean into the egg whites when they reached the stiff peak stage. (If you add liquid vanilla extract, you will have to up the sugar content, as the extra liquid WILL affect the outcome of the cookies.) As many former reviewers have noted, the egg whites take a good 15-20 minutes to reach the stiff peak stage with an electric mixer. (My KitchenAid Pro 600 took about 16-17 minutes.) Next time, I'm going to try folding some toasted coconut into the finished mixture.

—allison125

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Jul 12, 2006

I have made this recipe several times. I add 1/2 t. flavored extract to the mixture. I make the cookie larger with an indention in the middle. After they have cooled I use a coordinated flavor of chilled pie filling (spooned into the indention) and serve as a dessert. In other words if I use lemon extract in the cookie I use lemon pie filling for the dessert. I also add a dollop of whip cream on the top.

—LowFatLady

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Mar 27, 2007

I don't have an extremely sweet tooth, and thought this original recipe is way too sweet. So I cut the sugar to half and then I added 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar to compensate. My husband's grandmother use to make meringues for him, and he said it is exactly like he remembered it. So obviously the lack of sugar did not affect the sweetness so much as the rigidity of the meringues. But the technique of this recipe is perfect!

—CHECKERB

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Feb 05, 2004

I served French Meringues at an afternoon tea...easy to make and visually elegant. Even though I didn't have a pastry tube...I made them free-hand with a spoon...they were still beautiful! Make sure you whip them for at least 15 minutes to get the desired consistency.

—SHARONJMEYER

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Nutrition

Calories
31 kcal
2%

Carbohydrates
7.5 g
2%

Cholesterol
0 mg
0%

Fat
0 g
< 1%

Fiber
0 g
0%

Protein
0.4 g
< 1%

Sodium
6 mg
< 1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Authentic French Meringues

Serving Size: 1/36 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 36
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 31
Calories from Fat: < 1

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 0g < 1 %
Saturated Fat 0g < 1 %
Cholesterol 0mg 0 %
Sodium 6mg < 1 %
Potassium 6mg < 1 %
Total Carbohydrates 7.5g 2 %
Dietary Fiber 0g 0 %
Protein 0.4g < 1 %
Sugars 7.4g
Vitamin A 0 %
Vitamin C 0 %
Calcium < 1 %
Iron < 1 %
Thiamin < 1 %
Niacin < 1 %
Vitamin B6 < 1 %
Magnesium < 1 %
Folate < 1 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.