Finnish Meringue Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to meringue? ›

Use fresh egg whites. Old egg whites tend to collapse when other ingredients are folded in, and they don't rise well in the oven. Use eggs at room temperature. Cold egg whites tend to reduce meringue volume.

Chewy meringues, or pavlovas, have cornflour and vinegar added, which helps create that chewy centre.

The trick is to store the baked, cooled meringues in the freezer, where the dry, cold air prevents them from attracting moisture and losing their crispness. This means you can make plain meringue cookies anytime, yes, but you'll also have so many other desserts waiting at your fingertips.

Chewy meringues are the result of two possible situations, under-baking and humidity. If they are under-baked they might always be a little chewy. For humidity, you can try popping the meringues back into the oven on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet at 200°F for 10 minutes to try crisping them up a bit.

Meringue rules: The final verdict

Abide — Avoid yolks; use a non-plastic bowl; add sugar slowly, and bake low and slow. Let slide — Don't pull your hair out if your eggs are cold, you don't have superfine sugar, or it's a humid day.

The bottom line: For smooth, stiff beaten egg whites that keep their shape, don't skip the cream of tartar. If you don't have cream of tartar, substituting 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar per egg white works almost as well. To avoid meringues that weep, don't skip the cream of tartar...

The more sugar added to a meringue mixture, the denser and smoother the final foam will be. Sugar inhibits the eggwhite protein from forming bonds around air pockets, so the more sugar you incorporate, the less airy the foam will be. Adding the sugar too late and/or too slowly.

The cornflour and vinegar that is added strengthens the egg white and make it more stable and you get the marshmallowy centres from the shorter cooking time.

You can't overbeat meringue - It's true! You can't ruin it by mixing too much, so once all of the sugar is added, be sure that your meringue is glossy and that you have super firm, stiff peaks when you remove the beater from the mixer. Don't be afraid to mix a little longer if it appears too soft.

Italian meringue, like Swiss meringue, is cooked. It's the most stable of all three meringues, and it's ideal for buttercreams, piped decorations, topping tarts, and baking into cookies. Here, there's no double boiler involved.

Can I leave my meringues in the oven overnight? ›

This is a good cookie to make in the evening; meringues can be left in the oven (with the heat turned off) overnight. Baking vegan? A good substitute for the egg whites in this recipe is aquafaba, the liquid drained from a can of chickpeas.

For the giant meringue, leave the oven on low all night to dry, crisp and caramelise it. If you prefer to make smaller piped meringues just bake them for the allocated time before bed, turn the oven off and leave them overnight to cool to rid of any tackiness.

No yolks here! Surprisingly, fat is the enemy of a good meringue. Think about it this way: Egg yolks are what you use when you want a dense, luscious dessert like mousse or chocolate pudding. Egg whites provide the lightest, airiest texture you can imagine.

One of the most common mistakes is not beating the eggs long enough, or on too slow a speed, which means the egg whites won't reach stiff peak stage and instead only reach a soggy droopy stage.

Fats, water, or dirt may compromise the meringue and prevent it from achieving the fluffy heights you desire. Avoid plastic bowls, which can retain traces of oil. Separate your eggs carefully. Enough yolk will also prevent the egg white proteins from binding together in the way you need.

One of the most common mistakes is not beating the eggs long enough, or on too slow a speed, which means the egg whites won't reach stiff peak stage and instead only reach a soggy droopy stage.

Acid is often added to regular meringues, as well as pavlovas. The cornflour (cornstarch) added at the end of the meringue making is there partly as an additional stabiliser for the egg whites, but also to give the pavlova base its soft, marshmallow centre.