Lemon Meringue Cookies Recipe | So Nourished (2024)

FAQs

What ingredient is added to meringue to help stabilize it? ›

To stabilize the mixture, an acidic ingredient is recommended. Adding a half teaspoon of cream of tartar to your 3 egg whites for a pavlova for example will coax our beautiful bubbles into grabbing onto each other, making them much less likely to collapse.

A small amount of cream of tartar or vinegar can be added to the mixture at the beginning of whipping to help stabilize the foam and make it less likely to collapse. Don't use plastic bowls—they can retain a film of fat from previously mixed or stored items that can deflate the meringue.

Make Sure the Pie Filling Is Hot

As the pie finishes baking in the oven, remove it when the meringue turns light brown. Removing the meringue before it has finished cooking can cause condensation. At the same time, don't overcook it, which can also cause weeping.

Cream of tartar stabilizes the tiny bubbles in the egg whites, by precluding the egg proteins from sticking together. It thus speeds up the egg white whipping process and contributes to a stable, billowy, glossy meringue, perfect for cookies, topping pies, and folding into cake.

Adding sugar and cream of tartar helps to stabilize this foam, giving meringue its signature fluffy texture. Once a meringue is cooked, even for a short time, it becomes more stable.

Italian meringue has a soft and creamy texture that is considered the most stable of the three types. Because it holds its shape so well, you can typically find Italian meringue piped on desserts like baked Alaska or pastries.

While sugar helps stabilize those whipped egg whites as you beat more air into it, there's still a risk of collapse. Cream of tartar is an added safeguard; it gives more stability to that foam structure, therefore setting up your meringue for success.

I used to whip my meringue on higher speed for less time, however I find that it adds too much air to the batter and creates a less stable meringue, more prone to creating hollow shells. Currently, I like to whip my meringue at a slower speed.

Can you put too much sugar in meringue? ›

The more sugar added to a meringue mixture, the denser and smoother the final foam will be. Sugar inhibits the eggwhite protein from forming bonds around air pockets, so the more sugar you incorporate, the less airy the foam will be. Adding the sugar too late and/or too slowly.

Why Meringue Pies Weep. As it turns out, undercooking and overcooking can both cause weeping meringue and unwanted moisture on top of your pie (aka beading). Overcooking meringue causes those little sugary drops of moisture on top of baked meringues.

As the meringue cools, it contracts (shrinks) slightly―just enough, after a few hours, to pop this moisture onto the surface in tiny golden brown droplets, or beads. The beads form faster if the weather is humid or if the pie is chilled.

Just like when you under cook it, placing a lemon meringue pie in the refrigerator after baking can cause the meringue topping to “weep." If you do have leftovers that you'd like to save, it's okay to refrigerate! Just know the texture may slightly change.

Adding acid to the egg whites guarantees that they'll be stable when whipped; here we offer 3 options: wiping the mixer bowl with a lemon half, or adding lemon juice or cream of tartar to the whites themselves.

Factors affecting the stability of Meringues are as follows:

Egg whites foam better at room temperature. Do not overbeat egg whites for they will look dry and curdled. Sugar makes the foam stable, but it can also cause weeping because of the absorption of water.