Light and crunchy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside. These chewy raspberry meringues are the perfect sweet treat.
I still remember the first time I had a good meringue cookie. It was at a catered event at my old job. I reached for it reluctantly, since all the meringue cookies I’d had in the past had been dry, crumbly messes, but I thought I’d give it another go. This one looked better than most I’d had before – it was all crushed and gooey, practically calling my name. Sure enough, one bite and I was hooked. A crunchy exterior with a melt-in-your-mouth marshmallowy middle. Pure heaven. That was a couple years ago, and I’ve been thinking about those cookies ever since.
This is my first time actually making a meringue cookie. I’ve made meringue-based things before, like buttercream and marshmallow fluff, but never the actual cookies. I think maybe I was intimidated by the whole oven process, convinced mine would end up like so many disappointing ones I’d had before.
I did a ton of research on these to ensure these Raspberry Meringues came out perfectly chewy — searching online for “chewy meringues”, going through my old notes and textbook from school, etc. I’m not really a trial & error girl. I’m more a research the crap out of something so I only have to do it once kinda girl. Doesn’t always work out that way, but I’m pleased when it does. Well, this was one of those times when it didn’t completely work out, and you should know that I’d totally written off this recipe after the first 25mins of initial baking time. Read on to hear more about that.
The most important thing you can do to help ensure a good, strong meringue is to ensure everything you use to make it is 100% grease free. Even a speck of oil or a tiny bit of egg yolk, and your meringue will not whip. I wipe my measuring cup, mixer bowl, and whisk(s) down with some lemon juice to get rid of any potential grease.
The first batch of my meringue was a complete fail, and I’m convinced it was the store-bought egg whites. It just would not whip up. This has happened to me in the past with store-bought egg whites, so I won’t be making that mistake again. Trust me when I say: use whole eggs and make sure there is no yolk in the whites when you separate them.
My second batch of meringue whipped up perfectly. I added some cornstarch to it because I’d read that it helps give meringues that chewiness. After that, I folded in the raspberry sauce and dolloped them onto my baking sheet. Admittedly, they were larger than I planned, but ended up being a good size.
I popped them into the oven for 20mins and checked them. They had puffed up a bit, but were still very soft on the outside, so I rotated the pan and gave them another 5 mins. They were still super soft on the outside, or at least softer than I expected. Also, during that last 5 mins, the raspberry jam caramelized a bit. This wasn’t a big deal, but I was hoping they’d stay a nice, complete white. Sigh, oh well. I kept going with the process anyway, turning the oven off and leaving them in there. It was at this point that I wrote them off, thinking they’d be a soft gooey mess.
I ended up leaving them in the turned-off oven for the full 2 hours. They deflated quite a bit and firmed up nicely on the outside, insides still perfectly gooey. Success!!
The best thing about this recipe is that it’s easily customizable. The base meringue requires only 3 ingredients! Instead of the raspberry sauce, you could use (cooled) melted chocolate, Nutella, a variety of different fruit sauces, and even chopped nuts. My next attempt will be with caramel!
Chewy Raspberry Meringues
Ingredients
Raspberry Sauce
- 1 cup raspberries frozen
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
Meringue
- 1/2 cup egg whites approx. 3 large
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
Raspberry Sauce:
- Place frozen raspberries and 1 Tbsp sugar into a small saucepan and cook over med-high, stirring often, until raspberries are broken down and syrupy (crush with a wooden spoon as you stir). Strain out seeds and cool completely. You should have approximately 1/4 cup of sauce.
Meringue:
- Preheat oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat mat.
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.
- Place bowl over a hot water bath on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3mins).
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch).
- Sift cornstarch over meringue and whip until combined.
- Reserve 1Tbsp of raspberry sauce and drizzle the rest over the meringue. Gently fold a few times to incorporate slightly. You want there to be steaks of raspberry.
- Dollop onto prepared baking sheet, ensuring meringues are roughly the same size. I did all 8 on one sheet.
- Drizzle remaining 1 Tbsp of raspberry sauce over meringues and swirl with a toothpick.
- Bake for 25mins, turn oven off and leave meringues in there for 2 hours.
Maria says
Found this recipe while bored during quarantine. I made my first batch last night. Hubby and I ate them so fast, I have another batch in the over as we speak!
Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Maria! So happy you both love these!
Christina says
Great recipe, it was just what I was looking for! Chewy, tangy and delicious. Came out great the first time.
Olivia says
Hi Christina! So happy to hear you loved them!
Louise AVERY says
I tried this out, it was the very first time I have messed with meringue. It was a triumph. I substituted blackberry for raspberry only because I didn’t have them to hand. It was lovely. They held their shape for three days, and I would definitely make them again. When I say held their shape for three days it is because that is just how long they lasted. Thank you for providing a simple recipe. I have made swiss meringue buttercream before and it is sublime.
Olivia says
Hi Louise! I am so happy to hear you loved these! Thank you so much for your feedback <3
Mandy says
Can you replace the cornstarch with cream of tartar?
Olivia says
Hi Mandy! I haven’t tried that myself, I think it would be too much CoT for the number of whites. Cornstarch helps add chewiness while CoT helps make a more stable meringue. I don’t find CoT critical though. You can leave the cornstarch out if you prefer.
Joanne McGinniss says
Hi!
I am making them for a birthday but am wondering if i can do one big one as a cake. Have you done this and also how long would it take to cook as oppose to little ones?
Olivia says
Hi Joanne! You can for sure, like a pavlova I guess, but I haven’t done it myself so can’t be sure on baking time.
Carol S Straub says
I am wondering if I could use this recipe as a crispy meringue on top of a pie. I want it to be crispy but not hard.
Olivia says
Hi Carol! Do you plan to bake the meringue along with the pie? I’m not sure how well that would work with this recipe as I haven’t tried it myself!
Kat says
Any suggestions on doing this in a convection oven?
Olivia says
Hi Kat! For convection, I recommend reducing the temperature by 25F. You may need to reduce the baking time a bit as well.
Melinda says
This is the first time I have ever left a review. These cookies are amazing!
Please, for the love of all that is good, make these happy little cloud puffs of joy. They are melt-in-your-mouth, just chewy enough, and packed with flavor. I didn’t even like meringue cookies when I made these for my crew but I can’t stop eating them!
I was soooo nervous (pressed for time and just trying to use up extra egg whites) the directions are perfect though and I could follow them while rushing and cooking dinner.
10/10, this recipe is solid as is or as a meringue cookie base, it is so versatile! This time I added 1 tsp cocoa powder with the cornstarch and folded (cooled) melted chocolate in with the raspberry purée. The cookies bake at a low enough temp that even big swirls of exposed chocolate didn’t burn.
I’m so glad I found this recipe, and so is everyone I’ve made them for! Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Melinda! Thanks so much for the amazing feedback! I’m so glad you loved these 🙂
Mariya says
I’m in the process of making these, I made the dollops of meringue quite big so now only 6 for on my oven tray. I’ve ended up putting 2 dollops on another tray but left it out so what would be the best way to bake them? What will happen to the other 6 meringue only I keep them out for 25mins whilst the other 2 bake?
Olivia says
Hi Mariya! For best results, I would bake them all at the same time as the meringue will dry out.
Ariane says
I just finished making these and now they are in the oven for two hours. I did noticed when I added the raspberry sauce my meringue deflated and became fluid-like. I could almost literally pour it onto the baking sheet. I spooned it out onto the baking sheet in one big mass. The end product looks ok, but I was wondering why was it so fluid-like? Can’t wait to taste it. 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Ariane! You have to fold the sauce very gently into the meringue and only a couple of times or it will deflate.
Ruby says
I bake a lot and never leave reviews, but I made three different meringue recipes today and these were absolutely delicious. They’re soft, chewy, and got some nice rise while they baked– cannot recommend strongly enough!
Olivia says
Hi Ruby! Thanks so much for the feedback, I’m glad you loved them! 🙂
Angel says
This is a fab recipe. Thank you.
Olivia says
Thanks Angel! I’m so happy you liked it 🙂
zuha says
Hi, would it affect the texture of the meringues if I leave the seeds in the raspberry sauce
Olivia says
Hi Zuha! Only in so much as they would have some crunch from the seeds. I think it would be delicious 🙂
Rhys says
Awesome recipe. I skipped the hot water bath part and omitted the cornstarch. Used a pinch of salt as well to offset the sweetness a little.
The raspberry sauce is a perfect combination, even though I lost half the raspberry sauce when I figured out my wife tossed the sieve (strainer) out and I had to improvise to try to get the seeds out. Next time I might leave the seeds in.
Olivia says
Hi Rhys! So happy you loved this recipe and thank you so much for your tips!
Gina says
Hi there!
I literally brought these into work and they were an ABSOLUTE HIT. Thank you so much! I even tried doing mint and chocolate and lemon…. SO good. I have 2 questions:
I am trying to make multiple batches, so leaving in the over can be super tough sometimes
1. Cann I pre-make the next batch and store in the fridge until ready?
2. Can I leave them in the oven for an hour after turning off the over? I want that same chewy consistency!
Thanks again so much! All of your recipes are GENIUS and your instructions are so clear! 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Gina! So glad you liked them!! Love your flavour variations. For your questions — do you mean pre-making the meringue before baking them? I haven’t tried this myself, but I wouldn’t recommend it. As for the baked merignues — they’ll be fine at room temp for a week or so or you could freeze them. Fridge is not ideal. Regarding leaving them in only for an hour, I would give it a try and sample one to see if it’s the texture you like 🙂 I hope that helps!
Jan says
I have not made this recipe yet…My sister’s 60th birthday celebration is in April and I’m wanting a soft meringue recipe with fruit filling but more in a cake size. Is it possible to make one big meringue then fill with the fruit and cut like a single layer cake?
Olivia says
Hi Jan! In theory it should be possible, but I’ve never done it. What you’re looking to make may be more of a pavlova though?
Wendy says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it last night and my “cookies” are perfection. I am on a strict diet and I have a diabetic in my family so I substituted the sugat with Truvia. But literally only the smallest portion of Truvia. I used two packets for the meringue. Then I made blueberry sauce to use since that’s what is allowed on my diet. I didn’t add any sweetner, just blueberries, lemon juice and zest and a dash of coconut extract. I doubled the recipe for the blueberry sauce and added a bit more of that into the meringue and on top.
THEY ARE DIVINE! And no bitter aftertaste due to the sugar substitute because the blueberries did all the work!
I tried so many recipes for meringue cookies and yours is the only one that worked! Thank you!!!!
Olivia says
Hi Wendy! So happy to hear that these worked out for you! Thanks for the tips on the adjustments you made.
Eileen says
Hi! I tried out the receipe using my Japanese gas oven. Though they looked like yours going in there was no white left after baking, they all went brown. They did puff up in the oven but after the couple hours they not only deflated but went totally flat,like a traditional cookie.They also never crisped up but turned out only soft and chewy. Not like a meringue at all. Any tips? I do another meringue cookie with chocolate chips and pistachios and they have worked out, but they are not cooked really., Just put in a hot oven and turned off imediately and left for 6 hours. Thanks, Eileen PS Still tasted great though.
Olivia says
Hi Eileen! They should not have browned so much — perhaps your oven runs a bit on the hotter side. Do you have an oven thermometer? You can try and test it to see if it gets hotter than the set temp, if so you can adjust it down. I suspect the extra heat is what caused them to brown and flatten.
Amanda Wilburn says
Does the egg whites have to be at room temperature and can they be put in the freezer for a few days? I am trying to pre bake my desserts so that I am not doing all at one time before the parties.
Olivia says
Hi Amanda! For best results, they should be at room temperature. The cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Cristine says
These are ah-mazing!! Quick question though, have you dried doubling the recipe before? Do you think there’d be any issue with it? I feel like there wouldn’t be but sometimes there are those recipes where doubling somehow ruins it. So I just wanted to make sure. I gotta tell ya, I thought I loved meringues before but this is the first time I’ve had them all soft and pillowy. Life changing. Which is great because I never had luck making the crunchy cookie kind – they never seemed to dry out for me no matter what I tried. But these come out perfect. Like one of the other comments I made these smaller using a 1.5T scoop and baked for 12-15 min, then left in the oven (off) for 1.5 hours. I also added some chopped up dark chocolate. SO GOOD! Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Cristine! I also am not a fan of the crunchy meringues so happy to hear that you liked these! I haven’t tried doubling but I don’t think it would be a problem as long as your mixer can handle it.
Mollie Robinson says
Thanks for the great recipe! I’m trying it with strawberries instead of raspberries. In the oven now, fingers crossed they come out chewy and delicious!
Olivia says
Thanks so much Mollie! So glad you like them!