Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Light, airy, sweet, and delicious, these cinnamon vanilla bean meringues are a perfect confection. You’ll love how they look on your cookie platter, and I 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
I think baked meringue cookies are the perfect treat, not one bit heavy, with just a touch of sweetness to satisfy that craving. And they are perfect for the holidays for that very reason! Meringues are the perfect bite after a heavy meal. They’re completely nonfat and only 27 calories each.
This meringue recipe combines two of my 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 very 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.
Recipe Variations
- 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 really good, too!
- More recipes that use vanilla beans:
Vanilla Bean Candied Walnuts, Almond Vanilla Bean Granola, Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting.
More Cookie Recipes
Cinnamon Vanilla Bean Meringues
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
Instructions
- 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 (I use the metal bowl of my 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.3 large egg whites, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped, ⅛ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar, ½ teaspoon ground 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. I’ve made them that way plenty of times!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Two of my fave flavors in life are – cinnamon & vanilla! These are right up my alley!
I’m loving this combination! I’ve made lemon meringues before that were pretty tasty, but the vanilla bean and cinnamon definitely make these 11/10!
Yep, meringues are totally health food! I love the pretty specks from the vanilla beans :) These sound great!
Oh these look so pretty!!
Ooh, I loooove meringues but haven’t made them in probably a year. Why not? I have no idea, but I must change that ASAP. I will now be googling/pinning meringue recipes for the next hour, thanks to you! =P
Sou brasileira, moro em Macapá – Amapá, região Norte do Brasil e estou encantada com o seu blog. Amo as suas fotos e principalmente, suas receitas. Esses merengues parecem divinos! Vou tentar chegar à sua perfeição.
Um abraço!!
Noemia Lázari.
I had to use google translate ;)–but thank you for your nice comment!
Imagine!! Eu também faço isso… rs. O que seria de nós sem o maravilhoso google translate? rs.
These look so perfect. I love the little flecks of vanilla bean…that is my favorite!
Love these. The flavor sounds delicious this time of year, and you are right – they are almost health food :)
yum! not only do they sound delish, but they’re so pretty!
These are so cute! I’ve never actually eaten meringues! WHAT is wrong with me???
I hope you’re doing well!! xo