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Celebrate the season of Mardi Gras with these festive Mardi Gras Meringues. With a crisp outer shell and slightly chewy center, these delicate cookies will melt in your mouth. Decorated with swirls of the Mardi Gras colors, these simple treats will bring a bit of the Fat Tuesday fun into your own home.


Ingredient Notes
See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Egg whites
- Cream of tartar
- Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Food coloring

How To Make This Recipe
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until fluffy.
- Add the sugar very slowly, about 1 tablespoon at a time while still beating.
- Add the vanilla extract and continue beating until the meringue is shiny.
- Evenly divide the meringue into 3 medium-sized bowls. Add 2-3 drops of purple food coloring to one bowl, 2-3 drops of green coloring to the second bowl and 2-3 drops of yellow coloring to the third bowl. Take a toothpick or the tip of a sharp knife and gently swirl the color into the meringue. You mustn’t STIR.
- Meringues may be dropped by the tablespoonful onto the parchment paper lined baking sheets, or piped onto the sheets using a pastry bag, leaving a 1-inch space between each cookie.
- Place baking sheets in the preheated oven and turn the oven off.
- Leave the cookies undisturbed in the oven for at least 2 hours.
Looking to make just a few meringues? You’ll love this small batch meringue cookies recipe.
Expert Tips
- Be careful not to leave any of the egg yolk with the egg white.This will interfere with the egg whites foaming.
- If your egg whites have been kept in the refrigerator, bring them to room temperature. Warmer eggs whip faster than cold eggs
- Use glass, copper or stainless steel bowls when making meringues. Plastic bowls can sometimes harbor traces of grease which will prevent the egg whites from getting stiff.
- Use super-fine sugar when making meringues because it dissolves faster than regular sugar and gradually add the sugar, a tiny bit at a time while beating continuously.
- Try not to over-whip the egg whites. The meringue should be shiny and glossy so stop whipping when stiff peaks form.
- If possible, try to avoid making meringues on humid or rainy days. This could affect how the meringue cookies turn out. If necessary, you might need to increase the baking time.

Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this meringue cookie recipe, you might consider using them in any of these recipes.
- Egg yolk: Eggnog, Apple Scones, Mini Irish Soda Bread, Mini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
- Cream of tartar: Lemon Drop Meringues, Chocolate Mousse Pie with Biscoff Crust, Small Batch Snickerdoodles
- Sugar: Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars, Small Batch Donut Holes, Small Batch Whipped Cream
- Vanilla: Small Batch Apple Butter, Mini Spice Cake, Mini Devil’s Food Cake
If you’re looking for a Small Batch of Meringue Cookies, you can find that recipe as well as many other single serving recipes by visiting our One Dish Kitchen site.
Enjoy!
Mardi Gras Meringues

Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Purple, green and yellow food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until fluffy.
- Add the sugar very slowly, about 1 tablespoon at a time while still beating.
- Add the vanilla extract and continue beating until the meringue is shiny.
- Evenly divide the meringue into 3 medium-sized bowls. Add 2-3 drops of purple food coloring to one bowl, 2-3 drops of green coloring to the second bowl and 2-3 drops of yellow coloring to the third bowl. Take a toothpick or the tip of a sharp knife and gently swirl the color into the meringue. It is very important that you DO NOT STIR.
- Meringues may be dropped by the tablespoonful onto the parchment paper lined baking sheets, or piped onto the sheets using a pastry bag, leaving a 1-inch space between each cookie.
- Place baking sheets in the preheated oven and turn the oven off.
- Leave the cookies undisturbed in the oven for at least 2 hours.



I love Meringues!!!
These are so pretty.
Thanks so much, Nicole.
These are beautiful and I LOVE Mardi Gras! New Orleans is one of my favorite cities; it’s actually where my husband and I took our honeymoon. I’ve always wanted to go for Mardi Gras! I’ll have to make these and pretend I’m there. 😉
What a great city for a honeymoon! I hope you get the chance to make it back for Mardi Gras, Ashlyn. It’s so awesome!
How fun! I’ve never been to New Orleans, but New Orleans at Mardi Gras sounds like an awesome place to be. And the meringues look great!
Thank you, Sarah. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a great time to visit.
Just love the swirls in these celebratory meringues, Joanie!
Thank you, Melanie!
Beautiful and so festive!
Thanks, Kimberly!
Love making meringues! A mardi gras theme is such a fun idea!
Those are so cute! I don’t know if I’ve ever actually eaten a meringue before, let alone made one!
Love how simple this recipe is, love meringues. Always looking for a new way to spin an old favorite. Might just have to throw together a Mardi Gras party! 🙂
What a fun way to celebrate!
Meringues are so much fun and what a great sweet treat to have out for a Mardi Gras party! Great fun for the kids in my son’s class to learn about Mardi Gras too!