Crunchy Egg White Cookies
Don’t know what to do with leftover egg whites? Try my easy to make delicious Crunchy Egg White Cookies. They are especially scrumptious with a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate.
updated post from 2013
HOW TO MAKE CRUNCHY EGG WHITE COOKIES
Being baked twice these meringue based cookies remind of biscotti. Truth is I don’t know where this delicious cookie recipe originated except that my grandmother and then my mom used to make the cookies whenever they had leftover egg whites. And now, I make them too.
INGREDIENTS
- Egg Whites
- Powdered Sugar
- All Purpose Flour
- Walnuts or Pecans, Hazelnuts, Almonds
- Vanilla Extract
- Cream of Tartar or Lemon Juice
- Salt
BAKING PAN
These cookies are first baked in a Rehrucken Moravian Loaf Pan/Ribbed Loaf Pan. If you are not sure if you should get one, I also like using this pan for my ice box cakes, like my Chocolate Banana Ice Box Cake. Butter and flour baking pan with flour and shake out the excess, (steps 1-2).
TIP : If you don’t have a ribbed baking pan you can also use a loaf baking pan instead.
TOASTED NUTS
Pour walnuts into a skillet and toast on medium high, until walnuts are fragrant. This can take about 5-10 minutes. Allow nuts to cool and then roughly chop them up, just to break up the big pieces.
Can I use other nuts? Yes, absolutely. You can use other nuts : try almond, hazelnuts or pecans.
MERINGUE
To make the meringue make sure your mixing bowl is spotless. I like to wipe it with a paper towel and little bit of vinegar, to remove any traces of fat. Then pour in room temperature egg whites. Don’t forget to add some cream of tartar or freshly squeezed lemon juice or vinegar before you beat the egg whites. Why should you use cream of tartar to make meringue?
Beat egg white until soft peaks are formed, (step 1). Then gradually beat in powdered sugar. Continue beating meringue until stiff and glossy peaks are formed, (steps 2-6).
To flavor meringue I use Vanilla Extract. You can use other extracts just be sure to use either alcohol or water base flavorings. Oily/candy flavorings will break down the meringue, (steps 7-8).
MERINGUE BATTER
When I thought about it, these crunchy egg white cookies are basically made from a thick angel food cake batter. Why haven’t I thought about it before?!
To prepare meringue batter all you need to do is add flour into the meringue, along with the nuts for extra flavor.
Into the flour add a pinch of salt and whisk together, (steps 1-2).
Now gradually, in 3 additions fold sifted flour into the stiff and glossy meringue. Make sure to fold the flour, don’t stir. Meringue will deflate some but that’s okay, (steps 1-8).
And then fold in toasted and roughly chopped nuts ,(step 1-2).
BAKE
Spoon the meringue batter into a prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top with a spatula, (steps 1-4)
Bake at 350F (180C) for 30minutes or until golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, (steps 1-2). Invert baked loaf onto a foil and wrap it well. Let it cool for couple hours. It helps to soften nuts a bit so it’s easier to slice thru them, (steps 1-4).
SLICE COOKIES
Slice the loaf with a serrated knife into about 1/8″ inch (3 mm) slices. I was able to get 54 slices out of one loaf.
Without the second baking cookies stay rubbery so be sure to dry them before you serve them to avoid the disappointment.
Layer cookies flat on baking sheets and bake them at 300F for 10-15 minutes, or as needed to dry them out. They should be crispy and snap.
HOW TO STORE COOKIES?
Crunchy egg white cookies keep well for a long time, up to a month. Store them in an airtight container.
DECORATING IDEAS
- Drizzle cookies with white or dark chocolate
- Then Use sprinkles to decorate
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TO MAKE CRUNCHY EGG WHITE WALNUT COOKIES YOU NEED
- TOOLS
- Get all the Tools in my Amazon Shop
- Ribbed Loaf Baking Pan
- Spatula
- Hand Held Mixer or Stand Mixer
- Serrated Knife
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
Crunchy Egg White Cookies
Ingredients
Crunchy Egg White Cookies
- 5 large egg whites, at room temperature (150grams)
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar or use 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice
- 1½ cup powdered sugar (187 grams)
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (180 grams)
- 1 cup shelled walnuts (100 grams)
- 1 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
CRUNCHY EGG WHITE WALNUT COOKIES
Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Pan
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Butter and flour ribbed loaf baking pan, set aside.TIP : Don't have a ribbed pan, use a bread loaf pan instead.
Toast Nuts
- Toast walnuts in a skillet on a medium high heat until fragrant, about 5-10 minutes. Pour nuts into a dry pan and allow them to heat up, stirring frequently to prevent nuts from burning. Toast until fragrant, then remove skillet from the heat and allow nuts to cool to room temperature. Then pour nuts onto a cutting board and chop them up roughly to break the big pieces.
Meringue
- In a clean bowl, beat room temperature egg whites with cream of tartar (1/2 tsp, or use one teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar) till soft peaks are formed. Then gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat until stiff and glossy peaks are formed, beat in Vanilla Extract (1½ teaspoon).
Meringue Walnut Batter
- Thru a sieve, into a bowl sift all purpose flour (1cup and 1/4 cup flour, 180 grams) and a pinch of salt.
- Gradually sift flour mixture into the stiff and glossy meringue and carefully fold it in.
- Lastly, fold in toasted and roughly chopped walnuts.
Bake
- Spoon thick batter into a prepared baking pan. Bake at 350F(180C) for about 30 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the wooden skewer inserted in the cake comes clean.
- Unmold the baked cake onto a foil, wrap it in the foil, and let it cool. Covering in the foil helps soften walnuts and will make the slicing easier.
Slice and Bake
- Unwrap cooled cake onto a cutting board and slice the whole log with a serrated knife into thin slices. Arrange slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone baking mat. Bake cookie slices second time at 300F( C) for 10-15 minutes, until dry. Cookies should be snappy, they will be chewy if now properly dried. Watch the cookie so they don't burn. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before storing.
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container.
Notes
- CAN I USE PECANS? – yes, absolutely. You can use pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, and even peanuts I haven’t tried pistachios, but it would be lovely too.
- HOW LONG DO THESE COOKIES LAST? – A month or so, in an airtight container.
- CAN I USE OTHER FLAVORINGS? – Of, course, try almond or lemon extracts, or rum.
- HOW ABOUT SPICES? – you can add cinnamon or cardamom. Orange zest is nice, too.
- HAVE YOU TRIED ADDING DRIED FRUIT OR CHOCOLATE? – I tried dried cranberries and white chocolate. It turned delicious. White chocolate caramelizes and it tastes amazing. Use 1/2 cup dried fruit and 1/4 chop chopped chocolate)
This post was originally published on January 31st, 2013. On December 29th, 2020 I updated this post with new step by step photos and written text.
Hi there, can I use regular granulated sugar? Or – would this recipe still work if I cut the powdered sugar in half? Thanks!!
Hi Ashley,
Are you looking for a recipe that is less sweet?
I’d use 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 grams).
It should work with less powdered sugar, I’d use 1 cup powdered sugar (120-125grams), if you’re trying to make it less sweet.
Thank you
Hani
can i use oatmeal flour instead of white flour
Hi Lisa,
I will have to try it myself if using oatmeal flour will yield satisfactory results. I assume it should work, I’m just not 100 percent sure.
I just made this recipe today. I read through the ingredients and instructions several times. At what point was I supposed to add the vanilla/flavoring?
Hi Sarah, I just edited the recipe. Thanks for letting me know.
Vanilla is added to stiff meringue. How did the cookies turn out for you?
WHOA!! this cookie is seriously AMAZING ..THIS recipe is going straight into my permanent recipe book .. LUV IT ! And what a great fancy yet simple holiday cookie . ~ P.S I had 6 eggs whites to use , so I did . and they are still AMAZING !! Thank you so so much for sharing this recipe .
Hi Justine,
Thank you so much. You made my day.
This was really easy to make and was soooo good! A few slices with a cup of coffee in the morning was the best. They aren’t as sweet as you would think they are. I used almond slivers and was wondering if you have tried adding dried fruit like cranberries. Would the slices stay crispy when stored?
Hi Tina,
I’m so glad you like these. They are one of my favorite cookies.
I’m not 100% sure they would stay as crispy as without the dry fruit, but I don’t think they’d get very soft.
I think I just might try that sometime soon. I’m making them again.