Meringue ghosts are sugary, airy, and delicious cookies perfect for sharing with a large crowd at your next Halloween party! These spooky meringue ghosts feature egg whites, sugar, and melted chocolate chips for eyes. Add this recipe to your Halloween party food list because everyone will be falling in love with this delightful treat!
Easy Meringue Ghosts for Halloween
Meringue ghost cookies are so cute and spooky, everyone will want to know the recipe! If you are normally intimidated by meringue, you will find that these cookies are incredibly easy to make!
The cookie's crisp outside will melt in your mouth and the marshmallow-like center will satisfy your sweet tooth! You will want to add this recipe to your go-to list of spooky Halloween treats!
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🥘 Meringue Ghosts Ingredients
If you are a frequent baker, you will have most of these meringue cookie ingredients! You can easily find the cream of tartar in the baking aisle at your local grocery store.
- Egg Whites - 2 large egg whites (at room temperature).
- Salt - ⅛ teaspoon of salt.
- Cream of Tartar - ⅛ teaspoon of cream of tartar.
- Sugar - 7 tablespoons sugar (or more, to taste - *see note).
- Vanilla Extract - ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Chocolate Chips - 2 chocolate chips (melted, add more as needed - *see note).
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Meringue Ghosts
Meringue can be intimating, however, this recipe is a foolproof version to make! To get started, you will need a baking sheet, a Kitchenaid Professional 600 Stand Mixer (or hand mixer), and a silicone baking mat.
This meringue cookie recipe will make 18 servings! There is plenty to share with the family or at your next Halloween gathering.
- Prep. Preheat your oven to 200°F (93°C) (*see note). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Whisk. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, whisk the 2 large egg whites, salt, and ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar together (using the medium setting) until they are extra foamy and thick with white color.
- Add sugar and vanilla. Increase the mixer to medium-high and gradually add the sugar one tablespoon at a time (*see note). Once the 7 tablespoons of sugar are dissolved, about 1-2 minutes, add in the ¼ teaspoon vanilla. Beat the mixture until stiff peaks form, about 5-8 minutes.
- Transfer meringue. Transfer the meringue into a piping bag with a round, wide tip (such as a Wilton 2A). Holding your bag straight up, squeeze a dollop of meringue onto the parchment paper or nonstick mat. Slightly lift up the bag and, continuing to add pressure, squeeze out a smaller dollop on top of the first.
- Repeat process. Repeat this process one more time for the third, smaller, section on top of the ghost. Stop squeezing and lift the bag straight up to create the pointed top of your ghosts. Repeat this process with the remaining meringue to create the rest of your ghosts.
Bake & Decorate Your Meringue Ghosts
- Bake. Bake at 200°F (93°C) on the lower middle rack (one place lower than the center rack) of your oven until the meringue is dry and firm, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Cool the ghosts. Then, turn off the oven and leave the door ajar for the ghosts to cool. Leave them in the cooling oven for another hour (*see note).
- Remove from oven. Once completely cooled, remove the cookies from the oven.
- Add eyes. Dip the end of a toothpick into your melted 2 chocolate chips and dot on the eyes (*see note).
Meringue ghosts are delicious to serve by themselves! If you'd like to serve these cookies with another spooky dish, try these mummy dogs! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
- If you don't have time to let your eggs come to room temperature, you can place when into a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes. BUT - YOU HAVE TO DRY THE EGGS once warmed! Any bit of water will prevent your egg whites from forming a great meringue.
- Caster sugar (or castor sugar) is ideal for making meringues. Since it is not as common in the US, you can simply use a food processor to make your table sugar finer in consistency.
- Instead of chocolate, you could also use an edible black marker, black food coloring, or black icing for the eyes.
- It is really best to set your oven to the lowest temperature possible. When baked, you'll want your meringue cookies to be firm and dry, but not browning at all. To bake at a higher temp (if 225/250F is as low as your oven will cook at), reduce the baking time and watch your ghosts closely.
- Make sure to add in your sugar gradually. If you add it all at once, you could deflate the frothy airiness from your egg whites.
- Apply constant, gentle pressure while piping your ghosts. You don't need to stop squeezing in between each of the three dollops, simply lift the bag straight up to move on to the next layer.
- It is important to allow your cookies to cool slowly in the oven with the door open. If you pull them from the oven and let them cool on the counter, the quick temperature change could cause them to crack.
- If you are having difficulty with using a toothpick to dot on the chocolate eyes, you can always add your melted chocolate into a small storage bag and snip off a tiny piece of the corner to squeeze it on.
🥡 Storing
Pack your meringues into an airtight container as soon as they are completely cooled to avoid them attracting moisture and becoming sticky. They can be kept this way for up to 2 weeks.
Place your meringue cookies into an airtight container and store them in the freezer until ready to enjoy. Re-bake the meringues at 200°F (93°C) to return their crisp exterior after storing.
❓ Recipe FAQs
Macarons are a firmer cookie that tastes more like almonds. They have more ingredients but take less time to bake than meringue cookies.
Meringue is also a much softer, airy cookie that resembles marshmallows in taste.
If your cookies turn out with a chewy texture, this means that you either under-cooked your meringue or baked them at higher temperatures than recommended here.
If your meringues are under-baked, simply return them to the oven and finish baking them.
Meringue cookies will last up to two weeks in an airtight container! See my storage notes for best practices and reviving stored meringues.
😋 The Best Desserts To Bake
- Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars - Try these delicious pecan pie bars for your next Holiday event!
- Lemon Sugar Baked Donuts - Lemon sugar donuts are the perfect breakfast treat to start your day!
- Apple Cobbler Bars - Apple pie bars are a tasty dessert treat you can make for any occasion!
- Snickerdoodle Without Cream Of Tartar - Make these sugary and chewy snickerdoodle cookies the next time you have a sweet craving!
- Red Velvet Cake With Cream Cheese - Try this delicious and moist red velvet cake for your next celebration!
- Macaron Flavors - A massive list of the best macaron flavors, you will be obsessed with them all!
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📖 Recipe Card
Meringue Ghosts
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites (at room temperature)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 7 tablespoon sugar (or more, to taste - *see note)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 chocolate chips (melted, add more as needed - *see note)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°F (93°C) (*see note). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, whisk the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar together (using the medium setting) until they are extra foamy and thick with white color.
- Increase the mixer to medium-high and gradually add the sugar one tablespoon at a time (*see note). Once the sugar is dissolved, about 1-2 minutes, add in the vanilla. Beat the mixture until stiff peaks form, about 5-8 minutes.
- Transfer the meringue into a piping bag with a round, wide tip (such as a Wilton 2A). Holding your bag straight up, squeeze a dollop of meringue onto the parchment paper or nonstick mat. Slightly lift up the bag and, continuing to add pressure, squeeze out a smaller dollop on top of the first.
- Repeat this process one more time for the third, smaller, section on top of the ghost. Stop squeezing and lift the bag straight up to create the pointed top of your ghosts. Repeat this process with the remaining meringue to create the rest of your ghosts.
- Bake at 200°F (93°C) on the lower middle rack (one place lower than the center rack) of your oven until the meringue is dry and firm, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Then, turn off the oven and leave the door ajar for the ghosts to cool. Leave them in the cooling oven for another hour (*see note).
- Once completely cooled, remove the cookies from the oven.
- Dip the end of a toothpick into your melted chocolate chips and dot on the eyes (*see note).
Notes
- If you don't have time to let your eggs come to room temperature, you can place when into a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes. BUT - YOU HAVE TO DRY THE EGGS once warmed! Any bit of water will prevent your egg whites from forming a great meringue.
- Caster sugar (or castor sugar) is ideal for making meringues. Since it i snot as common in the US, you can simply use a food processor to make your table sugar finer in consistency.
- Instead of chocolate, you could also use an edible black marker, black food coloring, or black icing for the eyes.
- It is really best to set your oven to the lowest temperature possible. When baked, you'll want your meringue cookies to be firm and dry, but not browning at all. To bake at a higher temp (if 225/250F is as low as your oven will cook at), reduce the baking time and watch your ghosts closely.
- Make sure to add in your sugar gradually. If you add it all at once, you could deflate the frothy airiness from your egg whites.
- Apply constant, gentle pressure while piping your ghosts. You don't need to stop squeezing in between each of the three dollops, simply lift the bag straight up to move on to the next layer.
- It is important to allow your cookies to cool slowly in the oven with the door open. If you pull them from the oven and let them cool on the counter, the quick temperature change could cause them to crack.
- If you are having difficulty with using a toothpick to dot on the chocolate eyes, you can always add your melted chocolate into a small storage bag and snip off a tiny piece of the corner to squeeze it on.
- To store: Pack your meringues into an airtight container as soon as they are completely cooled to avoid them attracting moisture and becoming sticky. They can be kept this way for up to 2 weeks.
- To freeze: Place your meringue cookies into an airtight container and store them in the freezer until ready to enjoy.
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