These easy-peasy maple meringues surpass expectations with their crisp and crackly exteriors, ultra chewy centers and deep maple hues.
Maple Meringues 🍁
with just 2 ingredients!
These really are suuuper easy to whip up, require minimal pantry ingredients and come out tasting like a dessert straight out of Christian Girl Autumn on a fall road trip up to Vermont.
I mean, they’re basic… and yet supreme?
So if you’re a meringue connoisseur like myself, know that these truly hit the mark (in spite of using actual maple syrup rather than a powdered version).
That said, that’s the reason why I haven’t (and probably never) will give you a keto meringue… sweeteners simply result in poor textures or funky aftertastes.
Brownie points though: these guys are completely refined sugar free.
The Sweetener
This recipe was specifically developed around maple syrup, and any and all kinds will work as long as they’re 100% natural maple (i.e. you don’t want anything with corn syrup and so on).
Bonus points: go for a dark robust maple if rich tones are your thing… it really is a wonderful touch!
And my top tips for success!
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Form your maple meringue cookies by either free-forming them using a spoon to transfer little ‘meringue blobs’ unto your prepared baking tray (I personally love this look with the swirly peaks!) or use a piping bag with a fancy tip to create small and pristine cookies.
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Also vip, choose your size: you can either get 20 small meringue cookies (arguably better and less time consuming as they don’t take as long to dry out) or do what I did and go for larger meringues (I personally love their chewier center though?!).
- While baking be sure to check in on them every so often, particularly if your oven runs hot like mine as you’ll need to prop the door open with a kitchen towel. Once they’re fully set and crisp, turn the oven off (vip, without opening the door at all!) and allow them to continue to dry for 2 hours… but preferably overnight, particularly if you baked the larger meringues. And note that with meringues in general having an (old school?) oven with a pilot on permanently for a tiny bit of continuous warmth really earns you bonus points during the whole drying out process.
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And a note on humidity: meringues are notorious for being ultra sensitive to humidity in our environment. And, sure enough, it was pouring rain while I shot these beauties and in a matter of 30 minutes they got all soggy. I popped them back in the oven the day after though, and they did crisp up again (just something to keep in mind).
(2 Ingredient!) Maple Meringues
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Preheat oven to 225°F / 110 °C and line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside. If using a stand mixer, fit it with the whisk attachment; otherwise have your hand mixer handy and ready to go. Top tip: if you know your oven runs hot on the bottom, use two baking trays stacked to keep it from burning and have a kitchen towel handy to prop the oven door open if you see them over browning.
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Add egg whites to your mixer bowl and beat on high until soft peaks form. Gradually pour in the maple syrup with your mixer running and season with a pinch of fine kosher salt. Continue to beat until all the maple syrup has incorporated and your meringue is shiny and fluffy (it only takes a minute or so).
-
Form your maple meringue cookies by either free-forming them using a spoon to transfer little ‘meringue blobs’ unto your prepared baking tray (I personally love this look with the swirly peaks!) or use a piping bag with a fancy tip to create small and pristine cookies. Also do note that you can either get 20 small meringue cookies (arguably better and less time consuming as they don’t take as long to dry out) or do what I did and go for larger meringues (I personally love their chewier center though?!).
-
Bake your small meringue cookies for 1 hour and your larger meringues for up to 1 1/2 hours (or until fully set and crisp)- just be sure to check in on them every so often, particularly if your oven runs hot like mine as you’ll need to prop the door open with a kitchen towel. Once they’re fully set and crisp, turn the oven off (vip, without opening the door at all!) and allow them to continue to dry for 2 hours… but preferably overnight, particularly if you baked the larger meringues. And note that with meringues in general having an (old school?) oven with a pilot on permanently for a tiny bit of continuous warmth really earns you bonus points during the whole drying out process.
-
Some (more!) tips: meringues are notorious for being ultra sensitive to humidity in our environment. And, sure enough, it was pouring rain while I shot these beauties and in a matter of 30 minutes they got all soggy. I popped them back in the oven the day after though, and they did crisp up again (just something to keep in mind).
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Store in a cool, dry place in a (super duper) airtight container.
The Sweetener
This recipe was specifically developed around maple syrup, and any and all kinds will work as long as they’re 100% natural maple (i.e. you don’t want anything with corn syrup and so on).
Bonus points: go for a dark robust maple if rich tones are your thing… it really is a wonderful touch!
Serving: 1meringue cookie | Calories: 24kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 26mg | Sugar: 5g | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.01mg
