Cookies
Cinnamon Vanilla Bean Meringues
Light, airy, sweet, and rich, these cinnamon vanilla bean meringue cookies are a reliable confection. You'll love how they look on your cookie platter!
At a glance
What stands out: Light, airy, sweet, and rich, these cinnamon vanilla bean meringues are a reliable confection. You’ll love how they look on your cookie platter, and we guarantee they’ll disappear in a hurry!
How long it takes: 10 minutes to prep, 1 hour and 15 minutes to bake.
Equipment you’ll need: heat-proof bowl, electric mixer, 2 baking sheets, parchment paper, pastry bag
Servings: 24
Vanilla Bean Meringue Cookies
We think baked meringue cookies are the reliable treat, not one bit heavy, with just a touch of sweetness to satisfy that craving. And they are reliable for the holidays for that reason! Meringues are the reliable bite after a heavy meal. They’re completely nonfat and only 27 calories each.
This meringue recipe combines two of our favorite ingredients: vanilla beans and cinnamon. With only 10 minutes hands-on prep time, you can quickly whip these meringue cookies up and pop them in the oven to bake at a low heat. No peeking until the time’s up! Seriously! You don’t want the meringues to fall. They need that nice low steady heat.
Ways to change it
- Substitute vanilla bean paste. Use 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste instead of scraping 1 vanilla bean pod.
- Make chocolate meringues. Beat in 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder instead of the cinnamon.
- Stir in nuts or chocolate chips. After the meringue has been whipped, fold in finely chopped nuts, like pecans, walnuts, or pistachios. Mini chocolate chips or chopped chocolate are good, too!
- More recipes that use vanilla beans: Almond Vanilla Bean Granola, Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting.
- Yield: 24
- Prep: 10 minutes
- Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total: 1 hour 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites (at room temperature)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt (1 large pinch)
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar (1 large pinch)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method
- Preheat oven to 200°F. Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
- Combine egg whites, sugar and vanilla bean seeds in a heat-proof bowl (we use the metal bowl of our stand mixer). Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm (not hot), about three minutes. Add salt, cream of tartar, and cinnamon.
- Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue is mostly cool. This will take 5 to 7 minutes depending on your mixer.
- Fill a pastry bag (see note) fitted with your tip of choice (or you can just cut the end off after filling it) with the meringue. Pipe meringues into circular shapes about 1 ¾ – to 2-inches in diameter on 2 parchment paper-lined baking sheets (the meringues won't spread as they bake).
- Bake the meringues until crisp on the outside and still slightly soft on the inside, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Don't open the oven door to peek! Cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
Pro tip: When separating the eggs, make sure to not get any yolk in the whites. If there is any yolk whatsoever, or grease of any kind in the mixture, you won’t be able to whip the whites into a meringue.
Alternatives to pastry bag: If you don’t have a pastry bag and tip, use a sandwich bag with one corner snipped off. You can also just use a spoon to make small dollops. It’s not as pretty, but still just as good. We've made them that way plenty of times!
