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.
Shuanglin Jiate says
I am continuously searching online for tips that can aid me. Thx!
Laura Giordano says
Absolutely love this recipe! Very easy to follow and the chewy meringues are to die for! Thank you for sharing!
Olivia says
So happy to hear that you liked these Laura!
Laura says
Also I just made a batch of smaller ones (approx. 5-6 cms) and only cooked for 12 minutes and left in over for approx. an hour and they worked perfectly!
Anna says
I tried making these, but the raspberry I swirled at top completely burned. Followed the recipe exactly. Maybe my oven runs hot?
I made minis to try to make meringue sandwiches- raspberry meringue, coconut meringue, with pistachio cream in the middle. Next time I would make these larger as pictured and have them stand alone, they weren’t the best for the sandwiches but seem to have great potential
Olivia says
Hi Anna! It’s very possible that your oven runs hot, do you have an oven thermometer to test it out?
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Olivia says
They will keep for a few days in an airtight container.
Grace says
Could I make these into a pavlova? If so what adjustments should I make to the recipe such as the cooking time and temperature?
Olivia says
Hi Grace! I’m not actually sure as I’ve never made a pavlova before.
Tonette says
Hi! If I use a 2 inch ice cream scoop to make the meringues and the recipe yields twice as many, do I adjust the baking time?
Olivia says
Hi Tonette! You may need to adjust, yes, but I suspect it won’t be too far off.
Tonette says
Thank you! I ended up cutting the baking time in half and the larger meringues stayed chewy but the smaller ones ended up like traditional meringues. I know now that making them larger is the way to go! Thanks for this recipe – it’s yummy and I’ll be making it again!
Olivia says
So happy to hear you liked it!! 🙂
Margaret Sapozhnikov says
I didn’t have a strainer – would this work with seeds on?
Olivia says
Hi Margaret! Yes, that should work ok.
Rox says
Hello I guess you mean a glass or metal bowl, as a plastic one might melt ?
Also to Maxine, it must be 300degrees Farenheit (?) That is 150 Centigrade or Mark 2 in the UK
Olivia says
Hi Rox! Yes, a metal or glass bowl is best.
Reem says
Hi there! This recipe looks amazing but I’ve never tried making meringues before. Could you please explain step 3 a little bit more? I’m not sure what the hot water bath part means. I’d really appreciate it! 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Reem! It’s essentially creating a double boiler — a large pot with a couple inches of water in it on the stove and a bowl placed over it (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water). Bring the water to a simmer and place the bowl over top. I hope that helps!
Kim says
Y do we need this step id u continue beating it usually dissolved
Olivia says
Hi Kim! I find that it creates a better meringue doing it this way.
Kellie says
Oh my gosh. These are soooooo good. I just made them and will be doing so again. I rarely bake, but this is a must make regularly. If you like raspberry, you have to make these.!👏👍🏻
Olivia says
Hi Kellie! So glad to hear that you liked these! 😀
Maxine says
I made these with my oven at 300f and they burnt?! Are you sure the temperature is correct
Olivia says
Hi Maxine! Yes, I used 300F for 25mins. Perhaps your oven runs hot?
Natalie says
Is there something that can be used in place of the cornstarch?I’m allergic to corn.
Olivia says
Hi Natalie! You can try leaving it out. Should yield a similar result.
Linda O. says
You can use potato starch powder if you’re not allergic to that as well. If you can’t find it at a regular grocery store, they’re at Asian stores, especially Korean. 😉
Kenzie says
Arrowroot powder works exactly the same as cornstarch 😉
Jacquie Favrin says
Hi Olivia!! Could you make these ahead of time? How do you need to store them. How long will they keep? Thinking of making these for my sister ‘s 25th anniversary party
Olivia says
Hi Jacquie! You should be able to make them in advance no problem, they will be good for a few days at least in an airtight container. Be careful if stacking them as they’ll be pretty fragile.
neha says
could I just use jam and water it down to thin it out, or could I just blend and strain out raspberries and use that as the syrup? thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Neha! Yes, you could totally use jam for this and save some time!
Myfwanway says
Could I use seedless raspberry jam instead of frozen raspberries?
Olivia says
Yes! That should work fine 🙂
Jessica @ Sweetest Menu says
Sooo gorgeous Olivia! Just love that POP of colour from the raspberries. Pinned friend!
Olivia says
Thanks so much Jessica! <3
Jacquie says
I wish I could bake all the time :). Could you share the Nutella usage and technique and the caramel?
Olivia says
Hi Jacquie! For the Nutella, I would just microwave 1/4 cup of it until it was pourable then let it cool at room temperature and fold it into the meringue.
The caramel is a bit trickier as you’d need to make a caramel sauce which I have yet to do! I’ll post it when I do though. Alternatively, you could buy caramel sauce and use that instead :).
jacquee | i sugar coat it! says
Love, LOVE meringues – especially the messy kind! They look YUM!
Olivia says
Me TOO. The messy kind are the best ;). Thank you! <3
Mel @ The Refreshanista says
Yay for chewy meringues! The dry ones that just turn to powder don’t do it for me. These look so yummy, I love raspberry so I’ll give this recipe a go. Good to know about getting rid of all grease, I didn’t know about that!
Olivia says
Thanks Mel! Grease is a killer for meringues, many people don’t know that I think. I hope you like these!
Dominique says
These look delicious! Raspberry flavoured anything is good in my book. Totally trying this recipe!
Olivia says
Thanks Dominique! I hope you like them!!