These Strawberry Meringue Cloud Cookies are the perfect touch of whimsy to your summer day! These cookies are like biting into soft cloud marshmallows and are even easier to make than you think! With a little tartness from the strawberries, these cookies have it all! These whimsical cookies are perfect for special occasions when you want something a bit more special than the average homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Why You’ll Love…
You’ll love how whimsical and easy these cookies are to make! They have the perfect crispy shell and a gooey middle that’s the perfect marshmallow texture! It’s perfect for using up any leftover egg whites that might be hanging out in your fridge! The best part about meringue cookie recipes is that it requires a medium-low heat in the oven so you don’t have to heat up the whole house to bake meringues the same way you would with other cookies. If you’re looking for other easy cookie recipes to enjoy, I have them all linked here for you!
Freeze-dried Strawberries
If you’ve never used freeze-dried strawberries, they’re one of my favorite ingredients to use! I love using freeze-dried fruit over fresh fruit in baking recipes because they don’t add any extra moisture to the recipe! When it comes to baking, the liquid to dry ratios can be pretty specific to prevent any spreading, so sometimes adding in fresh fruit can throw off those ratios! Using freeze-dried fruit allows you to add in all the flavor of the fruit, strawberries in this case, without adding any extra moisture to the recipe! It’s a unique ingredient that adds a tart bite with the perfect fruit flavor!
Another benefit of using freeze dried strawberries is that once you blend the strawberries in a food processor you get this perfect strawberry powder that turns into a natural food coloring. It adds the best pink color to these meringue cloud cookies!
Substitutions and Additions:
These Strawberry Cloud Cookies are the perfect meringue clouds that look way fancier than they are to make! Here are few ways to spice up this easy recipe!
Chocolate Covered Strawberries – Chocolate and strawberries go hand-in-hand, so feel free to add a few chocolate chips to this recipe!
Whipped Cream Clouds – If you were going to add whipped cream to these, you could use the cookie scoop to scoop a dollop of the meringue, then use the back of spoon to smooth a hole in the middle! Then when they’re done baking, you can add a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh berries to the top!
Equipment Needed:
Stand Mixer – I prefer to use a stand mixer with whisk attachment for this recipe because it does take a few minutes to whip the egg whites up! However, you can really use any kind of electric mixer starting on medium speed then slowly working up to a high speed. I like to use a medium bowl or large bowl so the egg whites have plenty of room to rise!
Baking Sheets – I like to use a large baking sheet so there’s plenty of room for the air to circulate around each meringue cookie! Using two cookie sheets helps leave a 4- to 5-inch space in between each cookie.
Parchment paper – Parchment paper is one of the best pantry staples I can recommend when baking! It helps prevent anything from sticking and makes for an easy clean up!
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Ingredient List:
See Recipe Card for Full Details
Step by Step Instructions:
Step 1. Separate Egg whites.
Step 2. Add egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl.
Step 3: Whip egg whites to stiff glossy peaks before add in sugar, vanilla extract, Cream of tartar. Then stir in freeze-dried strawberries.
Step 4. Scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Storage Instructions:
I like to store these Strawberry Meringue Cloud Cookies in an airtight container for a couple days at room temperature!
Helpful Tips and Tricks
If you wanted to get fancy, you can use a piping bag with the open star tip to pipe the meringue into fun shapes! I like using a cookie scoop to get large dollops, but you can really get as fancy as you want!
?You don’t have to use a cookie scoop for this recipe, you can also just spoon meringue onto parchment paper in large dollops!
You might see ‘stiff peaks’ and ‘soft peaks’ throughout this blog post and others when it comes to whipping meringue. Soft peaks means that if you flip the mixer upside down the meringue will form a mountain top that gently falls over on itself. Stiff peaks means that when you flip the mixer it will hold its shape in a mountain tip.
These strawberry meringue cookies have the perfect crispy meringue shells with a fluffy meringue center that’s almost like a gooey marshmallow consistency! The texture combined with the perfect whimsical look of these cookies makes them the perfect treat for a brunch or a girl’s night dinner! This is a great recipe if you are trying to find another low carbohydrate choice for dessert or just wanting a lighter dessert after a heavy cream.
Cheers!
-Holly Michelle
Strawberry Meringue Cloud Cookies (Easy Recipe)
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 3 Egg Whites
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Freeze-Dried Strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
- While the sugar cools, add egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer and begin to whip until soft peaks form.3 Egg Whites
- Then gently add the sugar a little bit at a time.1 cup Sugar
- Once the sugar is incorporated, add in the cream of tartar and vanilla.1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Grind up freeze dried strawberries. Add the powder to the meringue.1 cup Freeze-Dried Strawberries
- Gently fold a few times, you still want swirls of the strawberry throughout!
- Use a large cookie scoop to scoop the meringues onto parchment paper.
- Bake in the oven for about an hour, then turn off the oven and allow it to cool in the oven for another hour.
