Cuban Merenguitos (Meringue Cookies)

This Cuban Merenguitos (Meringue Cookies) Recipe is a guide to making little drops of sugar heaven. Easy to follow recipe you will love.

What are Cuban Merenguitos

Merenguitos are Cuban meringue cookies that literally melt in your mouth. These sweet and airy cookies are made by whipping sugar, egg whites and a couple other ingredients. Then they are baked at a very low temperature until crispy and light. 

Merenguitos are made using our Swiss Merengue Recipe. This recipe heats the ingredients slightly during the beating process to guarantee a very fluffy and stable meringue. The goal is to be sure they don’t fall while they are baking or cooling. Similar to our Pavlova Recipe this meringue needs to cool in the oven once it is baked. 

We used natural sugar so our merenguitos are slightly tan, but it gives a great caramelized flavor. If you want that bright white signature look you need classic granulated white sugar.

Tools To Help Make These Cuban Merenguitos

• Piping Bag: if you don’t have one, grab a ziplock and cut the corner it can get you by. But if you are serious about making Merenguitos regularly, not a bad investment we love this one: Piping Bag
• Medium or large Star tip: HERE is a set of some good tips to have on hand
• Silpat: We highly recommend using over aluminum foil, doesn’t have to have the circles on it for placement, but if you need to buy one, THIS is a great one for baking
• Large glass bowl and a pot to set up a double boiler

Our Best Tips to Help You Make Our Cuban Merenguitos

• Don’t let anything go to waste. Save the egg yolks to make classic Natilla or one of our variations like Coffee Natilla or Chocolate Natilla. 
• When separating the eggs be sure there is no trace of egg yolks. Any trace of egg yolk won’t allow the egg whites to get fluffy. 
• Always separate the eggs when they are cold. You want to beat them at room temperature or in the case of this recipe you heat them over a water bath.  
• Don’t under mix. Don’t over mix. The meringue needs to be just right; fluffly, glossy and forms ripples when beating. At different points in the recipe we will alert you when to stop mixing or keep mixing!
• Merengues won’t grow in the oven. When you are pipping them on a sheet pan don’t need to space them out too much. 
• You can use food coloring to tint your meringue mixture once it is ready to bake. 
• The merenguitos need to cool in the oven. Once they bake you leave them in the oven with the door closed for another hour. This ensures they are airy on the inside. 
• Mini merenguitos make a perfect gift. Put them in a bag or box. 
• They will last for 2 weeks in a dry and air tight container.  
• Don’t stress the shape. They should look homemade because they are!

Try Some of Our Other Delicious Desserts

Cuban Merenguitos (Meringue Cookies)

Recipe by Abuelas Cuban CounterCourse: Christmas Eve and Morning Ideas, Desserts

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Calories

300

kcal

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites, at room temperature 

• 1 cup of granulated sugar 

• 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tarter

• ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract

• ¼ teaspoon salt 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two sheet pans with a silpat or parchment paper. 
• Set up a double boiler. Fill a medium sized pot with water about 2 inches high. Cover and bring the water to a boil on high heat. 
• Once the water is boiling, drop the temperature to maintain a steady simmer. 
  
• Using a heat safe bowl that is stainless steel or glass, combine egg whites and salt. Place the large bowl over the saucepot. Beat with a handheld mixture for 1 minute until it becomes foamy. (Be sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water!) 
• Once the mixture is foamy, add the sugar in a very slow and gradual stream. Keep the bowl over the pot and beat with the hand-held mixer on high. Scrape the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula and be sure everything is being incorporated by the mixer. 
• After the mixture begins to thicken, remove from the steaming pot and continue to use the mixer. Then add the vanilla, cream of tarter and cornstarch. Beat on high for another 3-5 minutes. You want there to be ripples of the meringue in the bowl. As it thickens it will hold its shape. 
• It should form stiff peaks, which means when you lift the mixture from the beaters, the egg whites will look like stiff little mountains standing on their own. The mixture shouldn’t be droopy or flat. Don’t overmix. As soon as it’s holding its shape, you can stop. You don’t want the mixture to separate. 
• At this point take some of the mixture and rub it between two fingers. You shouldn’t feel any other the sugar crystals. It should be totally smooth. 
• Add the mixture to the pipping bag with the star attachment. You can work in batches. Pipe out the cookies into a shape resembling a large Hershey’s kiss. They can be as big as 1 ½ inches wide or as small as ½ an inch wide.
• Drop the oven temperature to 220 degrees. Bake for 1 hour. DO NOT open the oven door. Turn off the oven. Leave the merenguitos in the oven for another hour to cool. DON’T open the oven! 
  Once they’ve cooled in the oven remove them from the sheet pan and serve them on a tray.