Maple syrup and cinnamon add a rich warm flavor while toasted chopped almonds add crunch to these entirely refined sugar-free meringues.
A good meringue is a beautiful thing; light as air, every bite a cloud of sweetness.
Rugged on the outside with airy interiors, the delicate shell gives way to a fluffy tender melt-in-your-mouth center. Deceptively simple, these ingenious little cookies are so much more than the sum of their parts and a timeless classic.
At its most basic, meringue is a combination of egg whites and sweetener in a ratio of 1:2 but the fun comes in the little extras that take a somewhat plain jane cookie to the ranks of delicious confection. A shower of shaved chocolate, a splash of good vanilla or rum, or a few pinches of cinnamon are all good contenders.
Now there are three different ways to conquer egg whites and make meringue: French, Swiss and Italian.
The French method is perhaps the most common and consists of slowly adding spoonfuls of sweetener to egg whites while simultaneously whipping until a smooth and glossy texture emerges. Italian on the other hand involves a cooked sugar syrup poured into egg whites, but Swiss is the method I chose for this recipe because of its stability and ease.
Here’s the general idea: maple syrup replaces traditional white sugar making these particular meringues entirely refined sugar free and a more wholesome option than traditional ones. It also adds a richness of flavor and pale amber hue while the cinnamon gives a bit of spice.
The egg whites and maple syrup are gently heated over a pot of simmering water before being whipped until stiff and shiny then generously scooped onto baking sheets, topped with chopped almonds, a pinch of sea salt and left to dry in a rather cool oven for about 2 hours (meringues aren’t so much baked as they are dried out.)
The result is a sheet full of large, somewhat misshapen clusters that are ethereally light and utterly addicting.
Have you ever made meringue?
Maple Cinnamon Meringue Cookie Recipe with Salted Toasted Almonds
Melt in your mouth meringues flavored with maple syrup, cinnamon and salted toasted almonds.
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites (120grams)
- 1 cup/240ml maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (preferably Celyon), plus more for dusting
- ½ cup/56 grams almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
- Sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a saucepan, bring 1 to 2 inches water to a simmer.
- In a mixer bowl combine egg whites, maple syrup, cream of tartar, salt and set over pot of simmering water; stirring until mixture is warm, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove bowl from heat and beat mixture with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 to 7 minutes. The meringue should be firm and glossy and keep its shape.
- Gently fold in cinnamon powder with a spatula.
- Drop meringue mixture with two tablespoons in generous amounts onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart or transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a pastry tip and pipe onto baking sheet. Top each mound with chopped toasted almonds and dust with additional cinnamon. Sprinkle tops of meringues with a pinch of sea salt.
- Bake until dry, about 1 ½ to 2 hours rotating the sheets half way through.
- Turn oven off and cool completely on baking sheets inside oven. (You can leave them in the oven overnight)
- Meringues can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to a week.
Notes
Gluten Free, Grain Free, Vegetarian, Paleo
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 52Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 69mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 8gProtein: 1g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
Mal says
The meringues look absolutely gorgeous. I just made them a few days ago and everyone loved them. Fantastic flavours! My only concern was that when they were still in the oven, some of the maple syrup separated/leak out which made the meringues a bit sticky. What do you think went wrong? Thank you!
Sylvie says
Sounds like you may not have fully whipped the meringue to stiff peaks and it started to separate a bit in the oven, they should be quite firm and glossy when done beating.
Sarah Harbert says
Started making these last night just as it started raining. I didn't have trouble with them weeping but they are still a bit sticky.
They were very soft in (warm) the oven then firmed up after cooling. This information might help others (I kept waiting for them to finish and finally pulled them out).
Sylvie says
Yes unfortunately meringues and humidity do not get along and they can get a bit sticky on those days!
Sandy says
These are greaet - I've substituted honey for the maple syrup to make them gaps friendly and they are still awesome. Just a question though - why is it necessary to fold in the cinnamon rather than just adding it to the egg whites before beating?
thanks
Sylvie says
I just like the way it makes for pretty streaks of cinnamon in the batter when you do it that way but feel free to add it in before with the other ingredients if that's easier, either way works!
Kristen says
Did anybody actually make these? Mine were brown from the maple syrup, not white. Very hard to stiffen but dud work when I did it by hand and then they never set up or dried out. Was 200 degrees f or c? Mine turned out a stucky albeit pretty mess...
Sylvie says
Hi Kristen, It sounds like the egg whites weren't quite whipped long enough. The mixture will start off brown from the maple syrup but should turn a glossy off white once beaten. I'd suggest using a stand mixer or hand mixer because it's a rather long time to be beating it by hand. If the egg whites haven't formed glossy stiff peaks before going into the oven they will weep and become sticky rather then drying out which is what sounds like happened to you. The baking temperature is very low, only 200 F because you aren't really cooking them, more like drying them out gently. Hope that helps!
Kristen says
Well the first batch went on and on for 30 minutes so read up a little and thought maybe I over beat them so tried again and did it with the whisk by hand and they did start to form peaks but never as thick like whipping cream like the pictures look. Maybe my eggs were too fresh?anyway cooked for 2 hours and then left in the oven over night. They were still sticky, thought they were too warm with the light left on so turned it off, no change..oh well they are a good chewy mess scraped off with a spoon....
Sylvie says
Hmm, I'm not sure what happened. Was is a humid or rainy day? That can tend to make meringues weep and be sticky. Or maybe the mixture of egg whites and maple syrup didn't get quite hot enough before you tried to whip them?
Miriam says
Hi,
thank you for this wonderful recipe!
I have tried it today and actually, the meringues are still in the oven (1h still to go). I had a good consistency and flavour for the mixture. However, I noticed that they are 'leaking' some caramel liquid, which I believe, by the colour, to be the maple syrup. I don't know what I did wrong! I used room temperature eggs and maple syrup and there were no yolks in the whites. Is it normal to leak this liquid? I have an electric oven. It is at 100C (the recipe says 200, which I assumed to be F). I hope you have some clue of what is the problem of my meringue! I just LOVE home made meringues and this is the third time I try making them but they NEVER turn out well. I'm getting frustrated. I need some tips!
Many thanks,
Sylvie says
Miriam it sounds like your meringues are weeping. Was it a humid or rainy day by any chance? That can be the cause sometimes. Not heating the egg and maple syrup mixture long enough could also be a factor, was it very warm to the touch when you removed it? Finally if the mixture isn't beaten long enough until firm glossy stiff peaks form then it will not have a stable structure and may weep when baked. Typically the foam structure of a Swiss meringue like this recipe that is heated before being beaten is more stable and not as prone to weeping but meringues can be fickle things! I'm sorry you are having trouble with yours, please let me know if you have any other questions I can help with!
Miriam says
Thank you so much for the quick reply, Silvia! After reading your comment, I think it was a combination of the three things: It had rained in the morning and I live by the sea. So, humidity is usually high here. Also I believe I could have heated more the egg and maple syrup mixture. I was really afraid of over heating and cooking the eggs. It was warm to touch but not very much. But, although they were very sticky they tasted delicious. Now, the forecast foresees a sunny weekend. I'm willing to give them a second try. I really want these meringues to be perfect!
Greetings from rainy Portugal.
Miriam
Sia N says
Wow they look insanely good and Paleo friendly. Love it. Am definitely going to give them a try.
Lois says
hey, I made Swiss meringue kisses last week too 🙂 but I paired them with chocolate ganache:
http://loisslokoski.blogspot.com/2013/02/swiss-meringue-cocoa-kisses.html
I like your idea about the maple syrup. I wonder what if made with honey? I should give it a try!
Sylvie says
Yours are gorgeous Lois!
Oliver Denton says
The meringues look to-die-for, and adding maple...heaven!