
Happy Little Confetti Meringue Kisses!
You know. Instead of happy little trees. đ We have been so up to our eyeballs in house projects over here that I haven’t been able to focus on anything except paint colors and wood samples and fabric swatches and . . . whew. #homeownership. How do y’all do it? Does the list ever stop growing???
I needed to visit my happy place. Aka . . . baking day. When I realized that I would need to make mini meringues to decorate my chocolate strawberry cake (recipe coming soon!), I wanted to do something fun with all the leftover meringue. And what’s more fun than chocolate and sprinkles??? (come at me. i dare you.)
Meringues can be so finicky, and I was afraid to make them for the longest time! But they can be so much fun to leave out in a bowl on your countertop for easy snacking, and they make perfect cake toppers! I’m more of a pavlova fan myself, but David loves the crunchiness of these little guys. I’ve included a trouble-shooting section below for if these meringues become a little too rebellious for ya. But this is my go-to recipe that I’ve made one-too-many times when I was practicing for a wedding cake. And as long as I am paying attention, this recipe doesn’t fail me!



Trouble-Shooting Meringues.
1. Why did my meringues deflate?
- Your meringue batter was contaminated by fat.
First, make sure you are not using old eggs. The older the egg, the less volume it will have when whipped and the weaker the resulting structure for your meringue.
Second, fat is the enemy of meringue. By whisking these egg whites into submission, you are breaking down the egg protein’s original structure by unwinding them. As you continue to whisk, the proteins form a new structure around air bubbles and moisture to create the foam or poof that is meringue. There can be ZERO egg yolk, butter, or oil in your bowl for this process to occur. Make sure that you take the time to wipe your bowl out with vinegar and don’t forget to add the cream of tartar. While not necessary, these measures provide extra acidity to the meringue, which helps unwind all those egg proteins in your whites.
- Your eggs are too old.
The fresher the egg, the more acidic it is. The more acidic, the more tightly wound the proteins are. While this means that more whisking will be required to break-up the proteins, it also means that when they re-form, the structure will be much stronger. (It also lengthens the time you are whisking which gives the sugar more time to dissolve.) I’m not saying you need them fresh from under the hen, but if you’re anything like me, you have a few egg cartons floating around in your refrigerator that have passed their expiration date. Don’t use those.
- Sudden temperature change – i.e., You didn’t let the meringues gradually cool.
When the meringues cool too quickly, any steam trapped inside the little meringues may condense into liquid and weaken the structure of your meringue.
- You added the sugar too much at a time or too early.
Meringue needs structure and it gets that structure from whipping the proteins apart and putting them back together while trapping lots of air bubbles.
First – If you dump a 1/2 cup of sugar on top of your meringue, you’re damaging that structure and knocking out a bunch of air. Add it slowly, a half-spoonful at a time to maximize volume.
Second – the proteins need a chance to unwind before you add the sugar. Make sure that you have whisked the egg whites into a foam before you even think about adding a spoonful of sugar.
2. I’ve been whipping forever – why isn’t my meringue stiff?
Are you sure it has been forever? It takes a long time. But if it really is never coming to stiff peaks, then your meringue batter was likely contaminated by fat. See #1, above.
3. Why did my meringues crack?
Unfortunately, meringues can be so prone to cracking. đ ‘Tis the fickleness of this fun dessert. The possibilities include:
- Your oven temperature is too high.
If the oven temperature is too high, the meringue foam may try to rise after the exterior shell has already set. Thus… a crack. Make sure you are starting low and slow at 200 degrees Fahrenheit. You cannot rush meringues. Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is at the temperature it says it is or simply try lowering the temperature in 15 degree increments.
- Sudden temperature change – i.e., You didn’t let the meringues gradually cool.
When the meringues cool too quickly, any steam trapped inside the little meringues may condense into liquid and weaken the structure of your meringue.
4. Why are my meringues grainy?
- The sugar did not have time to dissolve.
First – If you add the sugar too quickly or beat the egg whites into stiff peaks too quickly (i.e., at high speed), then you speed up the whole process, giving the sugar less time to dissolve in the egg whites. Make sure you go slow and steady and pinch some meringue batter between your fingers before you bake it to make sure that the majority of the sugar has dissolved.
Second – see “Your eggs are too old” under #1.
5. Why did my meringues turn brown instead of shiny white?
- Your oven temperature is too high or you cooked the meringues too long.
We all know what happens when we burn chocolate chip cookies. With meringues, you’re not looking for a golden brown, so the ideal temperature is very low. Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is at the temperature it says it is or simply try lowering the temperature in 15 degree increments. Also, make sure that the oven gets turned off as soon as the meringue exterior is firm and that you leave the oven cracked a few inches to allow heat to slowly escape.

The Darwin Chronicles
And here is Darwin. Living his best life and making me live my best life on a mountaintop. This view and this winter sunshine = rocky mountain love.

mikaela | wyldflour
55-65 meringue kisses
Fun mini meringue kisses that have been dipped in chocolate and sprinkles!
15 minPrep Time
35 minCook Time
50 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar or other clear vinegar (for wiping the bowl)
- 2 large egg whites (50 grams)
- ½ cup granulated white sugar (100 grams)
- Âź tsp cream of tartar
- Âź tsp vanilla extract (omit or use imitation vanilla if you want pure white meringues)
- 3 oz dipping chocolate
- ~1 cup sprinkles
Instructions
- Take your eggs out of the refrigerator and set out on the counter while you prep everything else. (Tip: use non-old eggs. See above.) Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Prep your piping bag. Use either a ½â tip or snip the corner off a bag, such that when it lays flat, the length of that cut is ½â. I like to open up my bag and place it in a tall glass, folding the bag out over the edges of the glass and making it easier to fill.
- Prep your tools. Place the ½ teaspoon of vinegar into the mixing bowl. Use a paper towel to wipe down the entire bowl to remove any fat or oil. Use the same paper towel that has soaked up the vinegar to wipe down your whisk or beaters, a spatula, and a separate small bowl. Now wipe down the two bowls with a dry paper towel to make sure all vinegar has been soaked up.
- I HIGHLY recommend weighing the ingredients since the weight of egg whites can vary so much from egg to egg. If not, then just choose your most average-looking eggs and measure your sugar carefully! Place the prepped small bowl on a scale and crack the egg whites into the bowl. Weigh them. As you can see from the recipe above, the amount of sugar you use should double the weight of your egg whites. (E.g., if your egg whites come to 60 grams, use 120 grams of sugar.)
- Pour the egg whites into the mixing bowl and use a clean small bowl to weigh out the appropriate amount of sugar. Set the sugar to the side of your mixing bowl and have a spoon handy to add sugar to the egg whites when ready. (But not yet!)
- Begin whisking/beating the egg whites on a medium-low speed until light and foamy. (Donât raise the speed early or rush this â see Trouble-Shooting, above.) Once the whites have become foamy, add your cream of tartar while continuing to whisk. (You do not need to adjust the cream of tartar amount unless you are doubling or tripling the recipe above.) Increase the speed to medium and begin adding the sugar a half-spoonful at a time every 5-10 seconds, continuing to whisk/beat the entire time. (This will take a while. Be patient.) Youâll see the whites start to turn opaque white, become glossy, and start to ripple away from the whisk/beaters.
- Once all of the sugar has been added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until it is firm, shiny, and peaked. This will take a while. (Do not rush on high speed â see Trouble-shooting, above.) When you pull your whisk/beaters from the meringue, it should leave a peak with a tip that might slightly curl over. You should be able to turn the bowl over and your meringue shouldnât move at all. If youâre unsure, continue whisking/beating for an extra minute or two.
- Once the meringue is ready, add the vanilla extract (if you are using) and beat for another 5-10 seconds. Use your finger to take a small swipe of the meringue for two reasons: (1) dab the corners of your baking sheet with the meringue and press the parchment paper onto the dabs to hold it to the sheet. (2) Rub the meringue between two of your fingersâyou might feel some granules of sugar, but it should not be full of them. If you feel a lot, whisk/beat for another minute.
- Use the prepped spatula to move the meringue into the bag and pipe each meringue kiss. Hold the piping bag steady, about a Âźâ off the paper and pipe, letting the meringue spread out to the size you want. Then stop squeezing the bag and lift straight up to get a tip.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Do not open the oven door while baking or the meringues will crack. At 35 minutes, open the oven quickly and the meringues should be firm to the touch. If they move at all â it is too early. Quickly close the oven and continue baking. If they are firm to the (light) touch, almost-close the oven, leaving it cracked 2-3 inches, turn the oven off, and allow the meringues to cool inside the oven. (About an hour. If you remove them from the oven immediately, they will cool too quickly and crack.)
- Remove from the oven when cool and store in an airtight container. (If you live somewhere humid â use them within a day or two. If you live somewhere dry, they will stay good for a couple weeks.)
Notes
Highly recommend reading the trouble-shooting section, above.
Search myfitnesspal(TM) for "wyldflour Confetti Meringue Kiss" to track your nutrition!
Nutrition per 1 Meringue Kiss: calories: 29; fat: 1.2 g; carbs: 5 g; protein: .2 g
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