Meringue Kisses — tiny crisp piped meringues

i. Origin & history

Whipped egg-white and sugar confections appear in European cookery in the seventeenth century, once cooks had learned to beat whites into a stable foam with bundles of twigs and, later, wire whisks. English recipe books of the period describe small baked 'puffs' or 'white biscuits' of whites and sugar, and the word meringue is found in French print by the end of the century, in the cookbook of the royal cook François Massialot.

Where the word comes from is less certain. A popular story attributes it to Meiringen, a town in the Swiss Bernese Oberland, and to an Italian or Swiss pastry cook said to have worked there; it is often repeated but has little documentary support, and many food historians regard it as a legend. Other suggested sources include a Polish or Germanic word, and none is settled.

The 'kiss' name has a clearer logic. In French a meringue may be called a baiser — 'kiss' — especially when two small meringues are sandwiched together with cream; German-speaking countries adopted Baiser as an everyday word for meringue. In English, 'kisses' has long been used for small, dropped sweets and biscuits, and the shape — a round base drawn up into a pointed tip, like puckered lips — made it a natural name for piped meringues. In the United States the term became especially familiar because of the shape of the foil-wrapped chocolate kiss.

Small meringues spread wherever recipes for yolk-rich custards, ice creams and curds did, because they are the obvious home for the whites left behind. In North America, pastel meringue kisses are a fixture of holiday baking, baby showers and wedding tables, and chocolate-chip versions — sometimes called 'forgotten cookies', because they are left overnight in a switched-off oven — are a well-loved home recipe.

ii. Why meringue kisses are dried, not baked

A meringue kiss is closer to a dried confection than a baked biscuit. The aim is to evaporate nearly all the water from the foam without colouring it, so the oven is kept very low — around 90–100 °C — for an hour or more. At that temperature the sugar and egg proteins set into a rigid, porous structure that stays white and shatters crisply. Hotter ovens cook the outside fast, trap moisture inside and brown the surface; the kisses then crack, weep or turn chewy.

The foam itself depends on clean whites and gradual sugar. Egg-white proteins unfold as they are whipped and form a network around air bubbles; any fat — a trace of yolk, a greasy bowl — interferes with that network and stops the whites rising. Sugar stabilises the foam by dissolving into the thin liquid walls of each bubble and making them thicker and more elastic, but added too early or too fast it weighs the foam down before it has formed. So the whites are whipped to soft peaks first and the sugar added a spoonful at a time.

The ratio for crisp kisses is roughly two parts sugar to one part egg white by weight. Less sugar gives a lighter but more fragile meringue that can collapse or turn soft; more makes them very sweet and prone to beading. The sugar must be fully dissolved — rub a little foam between your fingers and it should feel smooth, not gritty. Undissolved sugar draws moisture out in the oven and forms sticky amber droplets on the surface.

A little acid — cream of tartar, lemon juice or vinegar — makes the foam more stable and less likely to over-whip into a dry, grainy mass. And humidity matters: meringues are mostly sugar, which is hygroscopic, so on very humid days they absorb moisture from the air and turn sticky after baking.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 40 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 4 large egg whites (about 120 g), at room temperature
• 240 g caster sugar
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar, or 1 tsp lemon juice
• ⅛ tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cornflour, optional
• ½ tsp gel food colour, optional

Caster sugar dissolves quickly and gives a smooth, glossy foam; granulated sugar works but needs longer whipping, and icing sugar alone gives a softer, more delicate kiss. Whites from eggs a few days old, brought to room temperature, whip to the greatest volume; carton whites are fine but sometimes slower. Cream of tartar is the most effective stabiliser. Use gel colour rather than liquid colouring, which adds water. Swap the vanilla for a few drops of peppermint, almond or rose extract, but avoid oil-based flavourings and anything containing fat.

iv. Method

1. Heat the oven to 100 °C (210 °F), or 90 °C fan. Line two baking trays with baking paper, dabbing a little meringue under each corner later to hold it down. Wipe the mixing bowl and whisk with a piece of kitchen paper dampened with lemon juice or vinegar to remove any trace of fat.
2. Whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar and salt on medium speed until foamy, then on medium-high until they form soft peaks that just flop over at the tip, about 2–3 minutes.
3. With the mixer running, add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, waiting about 15 seconds between each. This should take 4–5 minutes.
4. Continue whisking on high for another 3–5 minutes, until the meringue is very thick, glossy and holds stiff, upright peaks, and a pinch rubbed between your fingers feels smooth with no grains of sugar. Whisk in the vanilla and cornflour, if using, for a few seconds.
5. For colour, paint three or four thin stripes of gel colour inside a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm star or round nozzle, or fold the colour gently through the meringue.
6. Pipe kisses about 3 cm across, holding the bag upright just above the tray, squeezing until the base forms, then stopping pressure and lifting sharply to make a peak. Space them 2 cm apart.
7. Bake for 60–75 minutes, until the kisses lift cleanly off the paper and feel dry and light; they should not take on any colour. Swap the trays halfway if your oven is uneven.
8. Turn the oven off, prop the door ajar with a wooden spoon and leave the kisses inside for 1 hour, or until completely cool, so they finish drying slowly without cracking.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Keep every trace of fat out. A speck of yolk or a greasy bowl can stop whites reaching full volume. Separate eggs one at a time over a small cup before adding each white to the bowl.
• Add sugar slowly. Dumping it in at once deflates the foam and leaves undissolved grains, which later weep as sticky beads.
• Check for grittiness. Keep whipping until the meringue feels smooth between your fingertips; this is the best predictor of smooth, dry kisses.
• Keep the oven low. Above about 110 °C the kisses brown, crack and stay chewy in the middle. If your oven runs hot, wedge the door slightly open.
• Cool them in the oven. A sudden temperature drop makes them crack, and slow cooling finishes the drying.
• Avoid humid days. On a wet or steamy day meringues absorb moisture and turn tacky; store them airtight as soon as they are cold.
• Pipe with a straight bag. Hold the nozzle vertical and stop squeezing before you lift — that is what gives a neat point rather than a leaning tail.

vi. Variations

Chocolate-chip kisses (forgotten cookies) fold mini chocolate chips and sometimes chopped pecans into the meringue. Cocoa kisses fold in 2 tbsp sifted cocoa. Peppermint kisses, striped red and white, are a Christmas favourite in North America. Sandwiched kisses, joined with whipped cream or ganache, are the French baisers. Swiss meringue, made by warming the whites and sugar together over hot water before whipping, gives denser, very smooth kisses that hold their piped detail particularly well.

Meringue is the base of many grander desserts on DessertCat: the nutty layers of a dacquoise and hazelnut meringue, the toasted shell of a baked Alaska, the topping of lemon meringue pie, and the almond-meringue shells of French macarons.

vii. Serving & storage

Serve meringue kisses on their own with coffee or tea, pile them into a cookie tin or gift jar, scatter them over a cake or parfait, or crush them into whipped cream and berries for an Eton mess. Coloured kisses make simple decorations for cupcakes and party tables.

Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, away from steam and humidity, they keep crisp for 2 weeks. Do not refrigerate them — the fridge is damp and they soften quickly. If they turn slightly sticky, dry them in a 90 °C oven for 10–15 minutes and cool again. They can be frozen in a rigid airtight box for up to a month and used straight from frozen, though they are best freshly made.

ix. More from North American

• Baked Alaska — ice cream in toasted meringue
• Lemon Meringue Pie — tart curd under meringue
• Hazelnut Meringue — crisp nutty meringue layers
• Dacquoise — French nut-meringue cake
• Macarons — French almond-meringue sandwiches
• Suspiro Limeño — Peruvian caramel with port meringue