Part of my problem may have been my sweetener. For the peppermint meringues, I attempted to use powdered xylitol and although they LOOKED fantastic, they never firmed up enough to be removed from the parchment even after hours of baking. You had to scrape them off with a spoon, which my kids actually did quite happily, because they tasted great. My other problem is likely the fact that I never wanted to just make plain meringues, I wanted something fancified (also not a word, but it will suffice for now). I added cocoa powder for chocolate meringues and deflated my entire batch of beaten egg whites. I added a peppermint extract that was made with oil and, again, deflated my egg whites. You get the picture. I sometimes focus so much on coming up with something NEW and DIFFERENT that I don’t just try my hand at the basics.
So. Shannon has done the work for me and I love her dearly for this. I tried them myself this afternoon, following her method almost to the letter, and they turned out fantastic. They are crisp on the outside while being a little moist and chewy on the inside. They do get a little browned on the tips, so I think I need to play around with oven temps and baking times. And unlike Shannon, I didn’t find that I needed to leave them in the oven for hours to crisp up. But these are very minor tweaks. It should be noted here that we both used Swerve for our sweetener and as Swerve contains a few things other than erythritol (oligosaccharides), I can’t guarantee the results with any other kind of sweetener. But this is a really, truly auspicious beginning. And I have a lot of ideas with which to use this recipe. I mean a LOT! So stay tuned, as you are sure to see many renditions of Shannon’s wonderful meringues on my blog.
Shannon’s Sugar-Free Meringues (Low Carb and Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites, room temperature
- 6 tbsp Swerve sweetener, or other powdered erythritol
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Arrange oven racks on second lowest and second highest positions.
- In clean glass or metal bowl, combine egg whites, Swerve, vanilla, cream of tartar and salt. Beat on medium high until medium stiff peaks form and mixture becomes somewhat glossy. Do not beat until stiff.
- Spoon or pipe mixture into 20 to 24 large meringues.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 250F. Then reduce oven temperature to 200F and continue to bake for another 18 to 20 minutes, until crisp and tips are just starting to brown.
- Turn off oven and let meringues it inside for 2 hours or longer.
- Remove and carefully peel off parchment.
Notes
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I’m interested in trying this but how do you store these? Do they need to be in an airtight container in the fridge?
I store them on the counter in a covered container.
I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never had sugar-free meringues! This recipe looks great though so hopefully that will change! Thanks for posting it Carolyn!
These didn’t’ work for me. I think maybe because there was a little yolk that entered the mix? Anyway, in spite of using the mixer as long as I dared due to it finally feeling too warm, I couldn’t get them to stiffen. So, I put them on the parchment by spoon. After they were baked, I ended up with bunches of pieces. Can anyone think of a way to use a bowlful of meringue pieces? They are too sweet, too, for me, so it would have to be something to minimize that effect. Anyone tried adding these to anything?
Even the TINIEST amount of fat (like some of the yolk) will cause your whites not to whip properly. Sorry but you simply can’t even try if yolks gets into it.
Perhaps as a topping for sugar-free chocolate ice cream? That’s what I’d use the crumbles for; they’d probably taster pretty good.
OK, here’s a question. (Apologies if I’ve missed it in the archives above.)
Can I try this on top of a THM lemon meringue pie? Any records of previous attempts (and successes)?
Please search my blog for Lemon Meringue Pie. That will give you all the info you need.
I could really use the calories and nurtrition info on these
Feel free to enter it into My Fitness Pal!
Definitely, your shannons sugar-free meringues are awesomeness! This is a great recipe, as you know I made it a short while ago and it was lovely, in fact, have made it again since. Thanks for sharing!
We love these meringues! Always have leftover egg whites, bc we live on sugar free homemade ice cream, and these are always my go to for the whites. We used banana extract tonight (1/2 the amount to replace vanilla) and yum!! Especially with a little peanut butter, to make a faux peanut butter and banana sandwich!
Swerve is 4g carb per tsp, at 3 tsp per Tbsp that would = 18 tsp
18 tsp X 4g = 72g , 72 g / 24 cookies = 3g. So this recipe will add up to 3g carb per cookie should you pipe 24 cookies. just a heads up for those watching their carb intake.
Sorry but this is incorrect. While Swerve technically has carbs, they do not have any impact on blood glucose and should not be counted as a carb. I test my blood sugar and I can tell you that this is the case.
Can you use liquid stevia vanilla flavour instead of vanilla extract
Sure.
I made these late last night, turned off the oven and fell asleep! This morning I had delightful little crispy treats! Probably not how they were intended to turn out, but really good. I could even see making a savory version. The only change I made was substituting lemon juice for the cream of tarter. Thank you for the recipe!!!
Well as long as they turned out okay!
what rack in the oven to put these on the second from the top or the second from the bottom?
thank you
Both, because there are two cookie sheets.
I am obsessed with healthy food! This is absolutely magnificent, scrumptious, delicious, super yummy shannons sugar free meringues. Thx for sharing!
Hi Carolyn
A big hallo from South Africa – Have just found and tried out your meringue recipe you shared above !!
10/10…so it will be on the Christmas table tomorrow morning.
Merry Xmas
Tania
Thanks, Tania! Have a lovely holiday.
Ugh. Tried twice – once with liquid egg whites from a carton and once with straight-from-shell. Both failed. I even tried whipping the second batch of whites first and then adding the rest – still deflated. Amounts to about $7 literally down the drain.
Carton egg whites will never work, they are pasteurized which breaks down the proteins. Straight from shell does work, however, and I have done this multiple times. But if you added the carton egg whites to the beaten whites, then yes, it would deflate again.
I’ve successfully used carton egg whites more times than I can count to make angel food cake, which is essentially the same initial process. But either way, I made two completely separate batches, not mixing them together, and both deflated. I just hate to waste more (pasture raised organic eggs and Swerve make this a spendy recipe for what I expect you get!) to try again.
Sorry, I am not sure what to tell you. I have made meringue with Swerve so many times, and have never had any deflating. Check out this one…the process is a little different but not by much. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-chocolate-peppermint-meringues/
Make sure you are using a pinch of salt and good cream of tartar, and that your egg whites are at room temperature. Also that you are using a very clean bowl and beaters. But if you choose not to try again, I don’t blame you. However, I have honestly NEVER had an issue when I follow this process. Unless a little yolk sneaks in there and then they will never whip properly.
You know, now that you mention it, my cream of tartar has probably been in the cupboard for a looong time. It’s still pure white, dry and powdery, but who knows. My stubbornness will probably get the better of me and I’ll try again – maybe with the other recipe you provided. Thanks for the feedback – my diet and sweet tooth are really at odds now that fall is here and all I want to do is bake cookies, so I’d love to make these suckers work!
Check out my chocolate chip cloud cookies as well. They too are meringues, with cocoa powder folded in, and they did not deflate either.
Can these be frozen?
I have never tried to freeze meringue. Sorry.
I haven’t yet tried to make these with Swerve instead of sugar (going to try tomorrow for Dad’s birthday pavlova!) but meringues made with sugar freeze very well, so I imagine these should too.
I made these as directed using powdered Erythritol and they came out like marshmallows. Needless to say my son enjoyed the marshmallows. I’m struggling to Swerve here in Johannesburg but I will make them again until I perfect them.
Did they not taste cold with the erythritol. Mine tasted ice cold.
I made these as instructed and turned out amazing!! I do have an issue with Swerve along with most alternative sweeteners, give me intense headaches. Is there a natural sweetener that will not give such terrible side effects and still work with this recipe? Thanks!!
I made these yesterday and turned out amazing! Finally a treat with no carbs and satisfies my sweet tooth without the guilt. Confectioner Swerve worked perfectly. Thank you for an amazing recipe.
Has anyone tried with pecans and coco nibs?
What can you use in Australia instead of swerve?
I hear Natvia is good.