These chocolate dipped meringue cookies are sweet, crunchy, and light as air. They're such a delicious naturally gluten free dessert!
These swiss meringue cookies are so fun to make and pipe into cute little kisses! Though chocolate dipped is such a delicious classic flavor, the flavor is so easy to customize. Add a spin to these meringue cookies and make them your own!
For more meringue based recipes, try Mini Flourless Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Macarons, and Easy Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
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What are meringue cookies?
Meringue cookies are made out of egg whites and sugar whipped to stiff peaks, piped into small kisses, then dried out in the oven at low temperature. The silky meringue turns into a cookie as light as air with a sweet, crisp texture. Their mild flavor makes them the perfect canvas for any flavor you'd like! Read below for different flavor ideas 🙂
Why you'll love these chocolate dipped meringue cookies
- Sweet, Crunchy Texture: The texture of meringue cookies is so unlike any other cookie, making them uniquely addicting!
- Chocolate Coating: Dark chocolate coating the bottom of these sweet cookies is absolute heaven.
- Easy Swiss Meringue Method: This method sounds daunting, but I promise it's so simple and truly the most foolproof method for making meringue! By cooking the egg whites and sugar before whipping it to stiff peaks, the meringue is extra stable and perfect for piping.
Ingredient Notes
Ingredient quantities are listed in the recipe card below. Here you'll find notes on why I chose certain ingredients, as well as ingredient substitutions.
- Vinegar: Wipe down all appliances with white vinegar to ensure nothing hinders the meringue.
- Egg Whites:Â Separate your egg whites carefully! Any amount of egg yolk may hinder the meringue.
- Sugar: You'll need about ¾ cup of granulated sugar.
- Vanilla: Add vanilla bean paste or extract for best flavor.
- Salt:Â Do not skip on the salt! It will help to amplify the flavors and balance out the sweetness.
- Chocolate: Use your favorite dark chocolate!
Kitchen EquipmentÂ
- Kitchen Scale
- Electric Mixer
- Saucepan
- Digital ThermometerÂ
- Piping Bag
- Star Piping Tip
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Oven Thermometer
Step by Step Instructions
Meringue can seem like an intimidating recipe, but I assure you it's actually quite simple! Just a handful of ingredients and a close eye as they bake are all you need to create beautiful meringue cookies.Â
STEP 1: Make the swiss meringue. Wipe the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk attachment down with white vinegar. Add the egg whites, sugar, and salt to the bowl and whisk until fully combined. Place over a small saucepan of simmering water, and whisk frequently until it reaches 160 degrees F. Move the bowl over to the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla extract and continue whisking until stiff peaks form.
STEP 2: Pipe into kisses & bake. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag with a large star tip (I used to Ateco 867). Pipe the meringue into kisses on the prepared baking sheet. They will not spread, so no need to space them out too much. Bake the meringue cookies for 1 ½ - 2 ½ hours (depending on their size) or until they are no longer sticky to the touch and can easily peel off of the baking sheet. Turn the oven off and leave the meringue cookies inside for an additional hour to continue to dry out.
STEP 3: Melt the chocolate. Add half of the chocolate (not finely chopped) and oil to a medium bowl, and heat in the microwave in 20 second increments until fully melted. Stir in the finely chopped half of the chocolate until smooth.
STEP 4: Dip in chocolate & set. Dip each meringue cookie in the chocolate and place on a piece of parchment paper to set.
Expert Baking Tips
- Wipe the electric mixer down with vinegar. Be sure to wipe your bowl and whisk attachment down with white vinegar. This ensures that everything is squeaky clean and nothing will hinder the egg whites from forming stiff peaks.
- Do not over whip the meringue. Whip the meringue to stiff peaks, but no more! If it's over-whipped it will become dry and lose it's silky pipeable consistency.
- If in doubt continue baking the meringues. If you aren't positive if the meringue cookies are done baking, just keep them in the oven and check every 15 minutes or so. So long as they do not turn brown, they'll be okay. It's better to keep them in the oven than have sticky meringues!
FAQ
If your egg whites did not whip, there may have been a greasy residue in the bowl or on the whisk, or an egg yolk might have broken. Any amount of fat can hinder the meringue from whipping. To avoid this, wipe all appliances down with white vinegar to make them squeaky clean. When separating eggs, use cold eggs and gently break the entire egg into a shallow bowl. Use your hands to pick up the egg yolk and gently pull the white away from it. This will ensure the egg shell does not puncture the yolk and mix in with the whites.
If your meringue cookies are sticky after baking, then have not been baked long enough. You'll know they're done when they are no longer sticky to the touch and can peel off of the parchment paper easily.
Flavor Ideas
- Peppermint: Add a ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract for a festive flavor.
- Crushed Nuts:Â After dipping each meringue cookie in chocolate, coat them in crushed peanuts, pecans, or walnuts.Â
- Gel Food Coloring:Â Add food gel to the meringue to create colored kisses!
Storage Tips
Meringue cookies should be stored loosely covered at room temperature for up to two weeks. I recommend storing them on a large plate covered loosely with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, rather than an airtight container to avoid moisture from building up and making them soft.Â
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other cookie recipes to try
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Chocolate Dipped Meringue Cookies
Ingredients
For the meringue cookies:
- 105 g about 3 egg whites
- 150 g ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
For the chocolate coating:
- 113 g 4 oz dark chocolate, finely chop half
- ½ teaspoon neutral oil
Instructions
For the meringue cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Wipe the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk attachment down with white vinegar.
- Add the egg whites, sugar, and salt to the bowl and whisk until fully combined.
- Place over a small saucepan of simmering water, and whisk frequently until it reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C) or until the sugar is completely dissolved and the egg whites do not feel grainy.
- Move the bowl over to the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
- Add the vanilla and continue whisking until stiff peaks form.
- Transfer the meringue to a piping bag with a large star piping tip (I used to Ateco 867).
- Pipe the meringue into kisses on the prepared baking sheet. They will not spread, so no need to space them out too much.
- Bake the meringue cookies for 1 ½ - 2 ½ hours (depending on their size) or until they are no longer sticky to the touch and can easily peel off of the baking sheet.
- Turn the oven off and leave the meringue cookies inside to continue to dry out.
For the chocolate coating:
- Add half of the chocolate (not finely chopped) and oil to a medium bowl, and heat in the microwave in 20 second increments until fully melted.
- Stir in the finely chopped half of the chocolate until smooth.
- Dip each meringue cookie in the chocolate and place on a piece of parchment paper to set.
Notes
- Wipe the electric mixer down with vinegar. Be sure to wipe your bowl and whisk attachment down with white vinegar. This ensures that everything is squeaky clean and nothing will hinder the egg whites from forming stiff peaks.
- Do not over whip the meringue. Whip the meringue to stiff peaks, but no more! If it's over-whipped it will become dry and lose it's silky pipeable consistency.
- If in doubt continue baking the meringues. If you aren't positive if the meringue cookies are done baking, just keep them in the oven and check every 15 minutes or so. So long as they do not turn brown, they'll be okay. It's better to keep them in the oven than have sticky meringues!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it turned out!