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Hydrangea Meringue Cookies

Today I’m going to show you how to make pretty pastel Hydrangea Meringue Cookies. These easy to make baked meringue cookies are perfect for all kind of occasions. From Mother’s Day, tea parties to weddings.

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HYDRANGEA MERINGUE COOKIES

TOOLS AND TEMPLATE

Draw circles onto parchment. Then turn the parchment over so the ink is facing the baking sheet. Spread little bit of crisco into each corner. Secure parchment onto the baking sheet with little bit of crisco.

  • FOOD COLORS – I used Americolor Brand Food Gels : pink, sky blue and purple. If you don’t have purple use sky blue and pink together to make purple.
  • PIPING BAGS AND PIPING TIP – Use large piping bags and a large Close Star Piping Tip. I used piping tip 2D.

MERINGUE

To make the meringue, you don’t need a lot of ingredients. Two essential ingredients you need are egg whites and sugar.

  • Egg Whites
  • Sugar
  • Lemon Juice
  • Vanilla Extract or other alcohol base extract

Combine egg whites, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl of you mixer. Place the bowl over a pot of simmer water. Whisking constantly heat the egg white mixture, until all of the sugar is dissolved. Undissolved sugar crystals can cause sugar beading on the meringues.

Rub the mixture between your fingers to check if all of the sugar is dissolved. If you feel graininess, continue whisking until the mixture is completely smooth. The mixture will become hot to the touch; this is normal.

Once the sugar is completely dissolved ( it will look soapy), return the bowl to your mixer. At low speed, using a wire beater, beat egg white mixture. Gradually increase speed to medium-high. Avoid beating at high speed as it causes your baked meringues to crack.

Beat until soft peaks are formed; add vanilla extract and continue beating until stiff peak is formed. The meringue should be glossy, and peak should hold its shape, it shouldn’t fall or bend.

Stiff peak meringue on wire beater.

COLOR MERINGUE

Divide stiff meringue into three equal portions. Color meringue with gel food colors: Sky Blue, Pink, and Purple. You can also use sky blue and pink if you don’t have purple.

Carefully fold the gel food color into the meringue. Then fill piping bags with pink, purple, and blue meringue.

Fit a large piping bag with a Piping Tip #D2. Insert a piping bag with pink, blue, and purple meringue into a large piping bag. Squeeze out the meringue until all three colors come out from the nozzle.

PIPE HYDRANGEA MERINGUE COOKIES

Pipe the meringue stars following the circle templates. First, pipe stars along the perimeter. Then continue piping stars inside of the circle. Continue until you use up all of the meringue.

BAKE MERINGUES

Bake hydrangea meringue cookies at 175F for 2-3 hours. Then turn off the oven and let the cookies cool in the oven.

HOW DO YOU STORE MERINGUE COOKIES?

I store meringue cookies immediately after I take them out of the oven. I like to store them in an airtight container with a small bowl of uncooked white rice. Rice absorbs moisture and helps to keep meringues crisp.

MERINGUE COOKIES FAQ

  • Baked Meringue Cookies are Weeping
  • Causes: over beating of the meringue or cookies are underbaked.
  • Remedy: add more sugar or add 1 to 2tbsp corn starch to the meringue at the end of the mixing. It stabilizes the meringue.
  • Cookies have Cracks
  • Causes: meringue is beaten at very high speed. Or meringue was baked at high temperature.
  • Remedy: beat it at medium-high speed. Lower the temperature.
  • Cookies have Sugar Beads
  • Causes: this can happen when sugar in the meringue is not entirely dissolved or the meringue was baked at a high temperature.
  • Remedy: Make sure sugar is dissolved completely. Lower the oven temperature.
  • Can I freeze Meringue Cookies ?
  • You can freeze meringue cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to a month. If freezing, layer meringues between parchment paper sheets. Defrost meringues on the kitchen counter for 3 hours. Don’t open the container while defrosting.
  • I want to decorate a cake with meringue cookies; how to prevent meringues from absorbing moisture from the cake?
  • Dip the bottom of the meringue cookies in chocolate and decorate the cake with meringues right before serving.

TO MAKE HYDRANGEA MERINGUE COOKIES YOU NEED

MORE MERINGUE TREATS

Pastel baked meringue cookies on a green plate.
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5 from 2 votes

Hydrangea Meringue Cookies

Recipe makes 12 large Hydrangea Meringue Cookies.
Course Candy, Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Keyword baked meringue, flower meringues, meringue cookies, pastel meringue cookies
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Servings 12
Author Hani

Ingredients

Meringue

  • 4 egg whites (120 grams)
  • 1 cup sugar (200 grams)
  • 2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar or 1 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Food Colors

  • pink, sky blue, purple (if you don't have purple, mix pink and sky blue)

Instructions

Prepare Baking Sheets

  • Trace 3-inch circles onto the parchment paper ( use a glass or cookie cutter to make even circles ). Turn the parchment so the ink is facing down. Secure the parchment onto a cookie sheet. Put a little Crisco in each corner of the baking sheet to keep the parchment from sliding. Set aside.

Clean the Bowl, Wire Beater and Utensils

  • Wipe tools and bowl with white distilled vinegar. Wipe dry.

Meringue

  • Whisk egg whites (4 egg whites), sugar (1 cup, 200 grams)) and lemon juice ( 2 teaspoons) in a bowl of your mixer. Place the bowl over the pot of simmering water. Stir with the whisk until all the sugar is dissolved, about 3-5 minutes. Rub the mixture between your fingers to check if the sugar is dissolved. If you feel graininess, continue whisking until the sugar is completely dissolved.
  • Transfer the bowl with a soapy egg white sugar mixture onto the mixer, beat on low speed, and gradually increase speed to medium-high. Beat until soft peaks are formed, then beat in vanilla extract. Continue beating with a wire attachment until glossy and thick meringue has formed. Meringue should hold the stiff peak.

Color Meringue

  • Divide stiff and glossy meringue into three portions. Color each portion with different colors: pink, purple, and blue. Fold the color into the meringue.
    Fit a large piping bag with the Wilton 2D piping tip.
    Fill the piping bags with colored meringue. Place all 3 piping bags filled with colored meringue into one large piping bag fitted with the piping tip 2D. Press onto the piping bag until all three colors come out of the nozzle.

Pipe Hydrangea Cookies

  • Pipe hydrangea meringue following the template circles. 1st pipe stars in a circle then fill in the center. Repeat until you used all of the meringue.

Bake Meringue Cookies

  • Bake meringue cookies at 175F for 3 hours. Then turn off the oven and leave the cookies to cool in the oven. This can take 2-4 hours.
    Take the cookies out of the oven and peel them from the parchment. Immediately store the meringue cookies in an airtight container layered between parchment. Place a small bowl with uncooked rice into the container. Rice helps to keep cookies crisp. Store cookies at room temperature for up to 10 days or freeze for three months.

Notes

  • Can I Freeze Meringue Cookies? You can freeze meringue cookies in a freezer-safe container for 3 months. Layer meringue cookies between parchment  Defrost meringues on the kitchen counter for 3 hours. Don’t open the container while defrosting.
  • Meringue Cookies Troubleshooting 
  • Weeping
  • Causes: over beating of the meringue or cookies are underbaked.
  • Remedy: add more sugar or add 1 to 2 tablespoons of corn starch to the meringue at the end of the mixing. It stabilizes the meringue.
  • Cracks
  • Causes: meringue is beaten at a very high speed. Or meringue was baked at high temperature.
  • Remedy: beat it at medium–high speed. Lower the temperature.
  • Beading
  • Causes: this can happen when sugar in the meringue is not completely dissolved, or the meringue was baked at a high temperature.
  • Remedy: Make sure sugar is dissolved completely. Lower the oven temperature.

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On July 11th, 2019 I updated this post from 2015 with step by step process photos, written text and a video.

This post containsThis post contains Amazon affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no cost to you. I only recommend products that I use and love. Learn more about my affiliate policy here.

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8 Comments

  1. Hello Hani,
    Thank you for your great recipes! One question, can I use meringue powder instead of egg whites? If yes, how much should I use for this recipe?

    1. HI Rozhin,

      you should be able to make meringue cookies
      with 1/4 cup meringue powder beat with 1/2 cup water, beat till soft peaks are formed then gradually add 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1-2tsp vanilla or other oil free flavorings, beat till stiff peaks are formed.

      Best,
      Hani

      1. Hi again Hani,
        Thanks for your response. Another question: Do you mean regular sugar or granulated sugar? In my country we don’t have granulated sugar. Thank you so much!

  2. Great post!! Your step by step answered ALL my questions as they popped into my head while I was reading this 🙂 . I especially liked the tip of putting rice into the container while storing these babies. Can’t wait to try this one- thx again!!

    1. Hello!
      This looks delicious!
      One question, it says to bake 2 to 3 hours. Is there a way to tell when they are done? Is it closer to 2 or to 3?
      Thanks!

      1. Hi Erin,
        Meringue cookies are usually done once they appear dry and are easily lifted from the parchment paper with their bases intact. They shouldn’t have that lustrous shine as they do when you first pipe them.
        When they are larger and thicker, it can be a bit tricky to gauge when they are done. That’s why I like to leave them in until the oven cools. I’d leave hydrangea meringue in for 3 hours, just to be sure.

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