Light, airy Strawberry Meringue Cookies are a delightful, crunchy treat dotted with freeze dried strawberries and full of strawberry flavor.
Strawberry meringue cookies are delicious year-round. They are easy to make and the perfect little treat when you are craving something sweet.
Tonia’s Notes
What happened to all of the meringue cookies? I tried to buy some recently and couldn’t find them anywhere. We looked at the big box grocery stores and the small independent ones, and no one sold them anymore! So, I made them myself in several flavors.
When my mom made these for us growing up, she called them Forgotten Kisses because you turn the oven off and “forget about them” by leaving them in the oven for several hours or even overnight.
We brought these strawberry meringue cookies to an extended family get-together, and not a single one was left, even though the recipe makes 70 cookies! Everyone, from the elderly to the little kids, enjoyed them.
How To Make Strawberry Meringue Cookies
Egg Whites and Sugar
Break up three room-temperature egg whites in a super clean, oil-free, stainless steel bowl with the wire whisk attachment on medium-low for about 1 minute.
Next, mix in the cream of tartar and salt on medium for about 2 minutes, until soft peaks form.
Now, turn the mixer to medium-high and add the superfine sugar, one heaping teaspoon at a time. Occasionally, scrape the sides down to make sure all of the sugar is mixed into the meringue.
Then, beat until stiff peaks form, the meringue is glossy, and the sugar is dissolved. To test whether the sugar is dissolved, rub a little of the meringue between your thumb and forefinger to see if it is gritty.
Color and Flavor
Next, add the strawberry extract and red gel paste food coloring and beat until combined.
I always use gel paste food coloring because it is thick and super concentrated. That means I can add less and still get intense color, without adding extra liquid to the meringue.
Freeze Dried Strawberries
Then, stir in the chopped freeze-dried strawberries. You can skip them if you want smoother strawberry meringues.
Form Cookies
Pipe the meringue onto parchment-lined baking sheets using a piping bag fitted with a large icing tip.
I used an Ateco 869 French open star tip. Choose different tips to make cookies of different sizes or shapes. You can also use two spoons or even a cookie dough scoop. See my Robin’s Egg Meringue Cookies recipe for pictures and more information on making them without a piping bag.
Decorate and Bake
Sprinkle the meringues with crushed freeze-dried strawberries for added contrast and flavor.
Bake the cookies at 200˚F for 1 1/2 hours. Then, turn the oven off and leave the strawberry meringue cookies in the oven with the door shut for several hours (or overnight) until completely cool.
Recipe Tips
- Storage: Store these pink meringue cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
- Cracks: Sometimes cracks form in meringue cookies if the egg whites weren’t beaten long enough for the sugar to dissolve, were beaten at too high a speed, or from sudden temperature changes. If some of yours did crack, don’t worry! They are still delicious, and the cracks add character.
- Flavors: You can swap out the strawberry extract with other flavors and the red gel paste food coloring with other colors to make them for any occasion.
More Strawberry Desserts
- Fresh Strawberry Pie
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert
- Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Strawberry Meringue Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup superfine sugar aka baker's sugar*
- ¾ teaspoon strawberry extract
- red gel paste food coloring
- ¼ cup chopped freeze-dried strawberries
- 2 tablespoons crushed freeze-dried strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200˚F. Use a super clean, oil-free, stainless steel bowl with the wire whisk attachment to break up the room temperature egg whites by mixing them on medium-low for about 1 minute.
- Add the cream of tartar and salt. Mix on medium for about 2 minutes, until soft peaks form.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high and add the superfine sugar*, one heaping teaspoon at a time. Scrape the side down so that all of the sugar is included in the meringue.
- Beat meringue until stiff peaks form, the meringue is glossy and the sugar is dissolved. To test if the sugar is dissolved, rub a little of the meringue between your finger and thumb to see if it is gritty.
- Add the strawberry extract and red gel paste food coloring. Beat until combined.
- Stir in the chopped freeze-dried strawberries.
- Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a tip and pipe onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Sprinkle with crushed freeze-dried strawberries.
- Bake at 200˚F for 1 1/2 hours. Cookies should be dry to the touch and easy to remove from the parchment.
- Turn off the oven and leave the meringue cookies in the oven with the door shut for several hours until completely cool.
Tom Harris says
Strawberry meringue cookies are such an elegant treat! Light and airy with a delicate strawberry flavor. These would make a beautiful addition to a spring dessert table or afternoon tea spread!