The tradition is to put them into a hot oven the night before Easter, turn off the heat, and go to bed. The next morning you wake up to sweet, light clouds of meringue cookie pecan fluffiness. They’re crisp on the outside and meltingly light on the inside, and so easy to make!

Video: How to Make Pecan Meringue Cookies

Ingredients for Pecan Meringue Cookies

There are only 3 main ingredients in these meringue cookies: We also add a pinch of salt and a little vinegar to help stabilize the meringue cookies so they hold their shape.

How to Make Pecan Meringue Cookies

Making meringue cookies is fairly straightforward, but keep the following in mind:

Whenever whipping egg whites, make sure that your equipment is squeaky clean! Even the smallest amount of residual fat in the bowl may keep the egg whites from whipping properly. Also make sure that there are no bits of egg yolk in your egg whites. Use a piece of egg shell to fish any out if you see them.Humidity is not your friend. If it’s a rainy or humid day, the meringue cookies may not crisp up well. If that’s the case you may need to bake them longer.Are the cookies browning? Lower the heat. Every oven is calibrated a little bit differently. The heat should be high enough to set the cookie, but not so high that the meringue browns. If you see it starting to brown, lower the temp by 25°F.Still a little gooey inside? Let them sit out for a while (assuming low humidity). Or bake them a little longer.

Make sure that all bowls, hands, and utensils that might touch the eggs are clean and free from oils. Then add the vinegar to the bowl. Increase speed to high and whip the egg whites until they fluff up and become glossy, and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, 4-5 minutes. If they are a little marshmallowy or chewy on the inside, just let them dry out for a few more hours.