How to Make Swiss Meringue + Meringue Cookies Recipe

If you are a beginner, I advise you to start with this recipe in order to learn how to make Swiss meringue. It is more reliable and gives you much more chances to get a good result.

For general information, there are three ways to whisk egg whites and accordingly 3 types of meringue: French, Swiss and Italian.

French meringue – egg whites whipped with sugar;
Swiss meringue – whites are heated with sugar and then whipped;
Italian meringue – whites whipped with hot sugar syrup.

Rules for whipping egg whites

There are general rules for whipping egg whites, they do not depend on the way they are cooked:

1. Fat – fight! It is unacceptable to get even the slightest particle of fat into the whites and whipping dishes. Not a drop at all. The dishes should be clean and dry, and the white should be separated from the yolk very carefully (the yolk contains fat). To be sure, you can degrease the dishes before cooking: wipe them with a napkin with lemon juice.
2. Dishes. Preferably metal or glass. Plastic absorbs fats and over time it becomes almost impossible to completely degrease it. In addition, if you will heat the whites, the plastic will melt when it touches the hot dishes in a water bath.
3. The temperature of the ingredients. The egg whites at room temperature whip easier, faster and more fluffy than cold ones;
4. Sugar gives meringue stability, so it’s essential. There’s a little trick (not a trick at all) that neutralizes this sweetness a bit, but still, meringue is a dessert for the sweet tooth.
5. The sugar should be completely dissolved in the whites. It’s very important! Have you ever had a meringue that leaks syrup while baking and then turns into caramel? Well, that was the sugar that didn’t dissolve.
6. To make meringue, the egg whites and sugar should be whipped until they form stiff, smooth, stable peaks. This process can take 20 or 30 minutes – it mainly depends on the power of your mixer, if everything else is done correctly (clean dishes, no fat in the protein).
7. Color the meringue while whipping. Preferably with dry food coloring, especially if you want a bright color.

This time we’ll learn how to cook meringue on the water bath, that is Swiss meringue.

Ingredients:

100 g egg whites (from about 3 large eggs)
a pinch of salt
200 g white sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Combine whites, salt and sugar in a bowl. (The bowl should be metal or glass, NOT plastic.)

2. Make a water bath: pour a little water in a small pan, literally 2 cm from the bottom, bring to a boil, reduce heat (the water should boil slightly), put a container with whites and sugar on top so that it does not touch boiling water (this is important!).

3. Constantly stirring with a whisk, warm until sugar is completely dissolved. Ideally, the temperature of whites for Swiss meringue should be 130-140 degrees F, but it’s enough when you try with your finger to feel that there are no sugar grains in whites.

4. Remove the bowl from the water bath and whip the mixture with a mixer, gradually increasing the speed to maximum. Whip until getting firm, dense peaks.

5. Add lemon juice and whip at low speed for a few seconds until the juice mixes with the meringue.

Now your Swiss meringue is getting done, and you can use it where you want, for example, make Swiss buttercream or bake meringue cookies:

Put the meringues on the parchment using two spoons or a pastry bag. Bake meringues at 175-200 degrees F for 1–3 hours. The longer you bake, the drier will be meringues inside. If you want a viscous center like nougat, bake 1-1.5 hours. Baking time also depends on the size of the meringue: small ones will dry quickly, while large ones will take more time to get dried.

Keep the meringue cookies in a tightly closed airtight container.

Why does baked meringue get wet in a few hours after cooking?
And what to do with damp meringues?

Meringue soaks due to humidity in the room or when touching wet surfaces, such as cake frosting or container walls, on which condensation has appeared. Do not leave baked meringues in a closed, turned off oven and store them in a dry, tightly closed container. If the meringues got damp, dry them again in the oven, half an hour at 160-175 degrees F.