How to Prevent Sticky Meringue Cookies and Improve Your Recipe

Meringue cookies, made from just four simple ingredients, are trickier than they might seem at first glance. The recipe for these egg white cookies is easy enough — separate egg whites and whip them with sugar, vanilla, and cream of tartar. But the devil is in the details here, and more than one baker has wound up with cookies with a sticky texture rather than the lovely crispness that signals a proper bake. We spoke to baking expert Jessie Sheehan, author of the “Snackable Bakes” cookbook series, who explained that the tacky feel comes from excess moisture. Luckily, she has some clever tips to help prevent sticky meringues next time around.

When the weather is damp and rainy, or when your kitchen is extra steamy, the sugar in the cookies will attract that extra moisture and trap it, according to Sheehan. Her first tip to prevent sticky meringues, is, “bake on a dry day, not a humid one,” and she has other pro-baking tips that can prevent a soggy result, too.

If you’re wary of making mistakes in general when making meringues, Jessie Sheehan has a bevy of recommendations for getting the perfectly crisp meringue of your dreams. They revolve around techniques before, during, and after baking. When mixing, she says to “properly whip the egg whites and make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.” Ensuring there are no crystals of undissolved sugar for moisture to cling to is a preventative measure to keep the baked cookies dry. Her next piece of advice is, “bake your meringue cookies at a low temp for a long time to be sure they are bone dry when they are finally done.” So don’t be tempted to turn that temperature dial up or cut short the cooking time. Extended time in the oven ensures the egg white moisture is fully evaporated.  

Next, Sheehan advises, “store the cookies in an air-tight container or in the freezer.” These help keep moisture away from your preciously crisp baked meringue cookies once they’re out of the oven.

Getting the right texture for meringue cookies — crisp on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside — relies on a few more important steps. Jessie Sheehan says, “start with room temperature eggs,” which is key to develop a light foam structure. She adds, “fun fact: you can bring the eggs to the room temp quickly, by placing them in a small bowl of hot water for 5 minutes.” 

Next, she advises, “don’t sleep on the addition of cream of tartar” — the  mild acid helps pump up the volume and set the structure of the bubbles. Sheehan also has a tip for adding the sugar, saying, “add your sugar to the egg whites slowly, as you are mixing. If you add it all at once the weight of the sugar can deflate the egg foam.”

Once the mixture is beaten to stiff, glossy, but not dry peaks, Sheehan recommends being extra careful piping the batter. Pressing too much on the piping bag can deflate all the bubbles you’ve worked so hard to develop, as can waiting too long to pipe and bake the batter. She says, “pipe within 30 minutes or less of making the batter — don’t let it sit on the counter and lose structure.” You can buy a set of French Star piping tips on Amazon to make your creations extra fancy. Creating the perfect meringue cookie is all about developing a dense foam and drying it well in the oven — these tips should make your next batch a perfect, crisp success.