How to Make Meringue

Get recipe: Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

Egg whites and sugar: two ingredients that you’ll need no matter what kind of meringue you decide to make! Learning how to make meringue is a key element in expanding your dessert-making repertoire. When you follow our tips, you’ll see that meringues are quite versatile! They can be used to top pies, cheesecakes and baked Alaska, or in crispy meringue cookies and pavlovas.

Tips for successfully making meringue:

Room temperature egg whites will give you more volume. When making meringues, separate your eggs first to allow the whites to get to room temperature.
Glass, ceramic or metal bowls are best for beating egg whites. Plastic bowls, no matter how clean, have trace amount of fat adhering to the sides, which will limit the volume you achieve. The same thing goes for trace amounts of fat from egg yolks. Separate eggs in a small bowl, one at a time, then transfer egg white into a large bowl for beating. If the yolk breaks, you haven't contaminated the entire batch of egg whites (been there, done that!).
When learning how to make meringue, take advantage of acidity! Cream of tartar, or other forms of acid such as lemon juice or vinegar make meringues more stable and easier to work with.
Granulated sugar is most commonly used to make meringues, but sugar can come from other forms too, such as JELL-O® Gelatin and JET PUFFED Marshmallow Creme.
For best results, prepare meringue cookies and pavlovas on a cool, dry day. High humidity can result in a chewy sticky meringue.

How to make meringue – a basic recipe:

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl with a mixer on high speed until soft peaks begin to form.
Add granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating constantly until stiff peaks form.
For meringue cookies, gently stir in any mix-ins, such as grated BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate or finely chopped PLANTERS Nuts. Bake according to recipe directions. Meringue cookies are typically baked at a low oven temperature for a longer time in order to get the crispy texture meringue cookies are known for. Some recipes allow the cookies to cool in the oven after the oven has been turned off to ensure maximum crispness.

Now that you’ve learned how to make meringue, use that knowledge to explore some of our favorite meringue recipes.