If you are looking for an easy Halloween dessert recipe that will disappear in no time, these Meringue Ghosts are what you are looking for! This simple recipe uses only 5 ingredients and produces adorable (and delicious) ghosts that are so fun to serve up!
With Halloween around the corner, I couldn’t resist whipping up a batch of my favourite meringue recipe to create this adorable Meringue Ghosts! I mean, how who doesn’t love a cute little ghost? That is also sugary and delicious? We certainly love them!
Meringues are so yummy with their crunchy exterior and soft, chewy interior. This contrast in textures is probably one of my favourite things about them, though the sugary deliciousness doesn’t hurt either. Ha!
If you are lover of meringues, this recipe is for you. If you have never attempted a meringue recipe before, this recipe is also for you. I’ve included plenty of pictures to help show you just how easy it is and what your meringue should look like at each step. I know I was intimidated by them at first but once you try, you’ll see just how easy they are.
Tips for making the best Meringue Ghosts
- Let your egg whites come to room temperature. As tempting as it is to just throw them in the stand mixer and start whipping them up, allow 10-15 minutes or so for the egg whites to come to room temp. This patience will help you get that perfect meringue every time!
- Use clean, dry equipment. Make sure your bowl and whisk attachment are not wet from a recent wash.
- Add the sugar in slowly. If you add the sugar in all at once, the frothiness you have already achieved by whipping the egg whites may deflate. I recommend adding the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Use cream of tartar. Meringue recipes vary and some include this ingredient while others look to vinegar or lemon juice to help achieve those stiff peeks your meringue should have. I personally have found my success using cream of tartar and won’t go back to any other method!
- Whip the meringue until it forms stiff peaks.
- Use a large, round tip. I used a Wilton 2A tip.
- Place your pastry bag in a cup for easy filling.
- Apply gentle, consistent pressure when piping. To make the ghost shapes,, a gentle squeeze of your pastry bag to produce all 3 dollops works well. I don’t stop squeezing in between dollop layers. Instead, I continue squeezing while lifting up the bag only a little bit to make the next little mound.
- Stop squeezing and pull straight up to get those point tops when you are done making a ghost.
- Let your meringue cool in the oven. Meringue can crack while it is cooling. In order to minimize this, leave the meringues in the oven when you are done baking, leaving the door open just a bit.
- Bake using the middle rack. To avoid overcooked bottoms, I use the middle rack in the oven.
The 4 ingredients you need for the best meringue
In order to make my meringue, I use only 4 ingredients:
- 2 egg whites room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For these ghosts, I also used a black edible food marker to draw on the faces. You could also use black icing instead.
How to make Meringue Ghosts
1. Whip up the meringue. In the bowl of stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer), whip the egg whites on medium setting until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat on medium-high. With the mixer still running, slowly add the sugar (about a tablespoon at a time) and beat until stiff peaks form, about 5-8 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate.
2. Pipe the ghosts. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a wide, round tip (I use a Wilton 2A tip). Holding the bag straight up over the parchment lined baking sheet squeeze out a large dollop of meringue to form the base, lifting the bag up slightly and continuing to apply pressure to make a slightly smaller dollop on top of the first one. Then repeat this by slightly lifting bag and producing another slightly smaller dollop. Stop squeezing and lift the bag up to create the pointed top. Repeat with the remaining meringue to produce about 12 ghosts.
3. Bake. Bake in a preheated oven on a middle rack for about 45 minutes or until the meringues are dry on the outside. Let the meringues completely cool on the baking sheet before peeling them off of the parchment paper. [Tip: to prevent the meringue cracking while it cools, leave the meringues in the oven with the oven door open just a bit. This will help the meringues cool down slowly and helps prevent big cracks from forming.]
4. Add faces! Once the meringues are cooled, use a black edible food marker to draw the eyes and mouth on each ghost. Alternatively, you can use black icing.
Easier than you thought, right?
I hope you enjoy these meringue ghosts as much as I do! Have fun!
Happy Halloween!
-Cathy
Wondering what to do with those extra egg yolks?
Use them to make a hollandaise sauce and whip up my Caprese Eggs Benedict or whip up a batch of my Portuguese Custard Tarts!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you try it and love it as much as I do, I would love to hear about it! Leave a rating and/or comment below to let me know!
Meringue Ghosts
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- black edible colour marker
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer), whip the egg whites on medium setting until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat on medium-high. With the mixer still running, slowly add the sugar (about a tablespoon at a time) and beat until stiff peaks form, about 5-8 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate.
- Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a wide, round tip (I use a Wilton 2A tip). Holding the bag straight up over the parchment lined baking sheet squeeze out a large dollop of meringue to form the base, lifting the bag up slightly and continuing to apply pressure to make a slightly smaller dollop on top of the first one. Then repeat this by slightly lifting bag and producing another slightly smaller dollop. Stop squeezing and lift the bag up to create the pointed top. Repeat with the remaining meringue to produce about 12 ghosts.
- Bake in the oven on a middle rack for about 45 minutes or until the meringues are dry on the outside. Let the meringues completely cool on the baking sheet before peeling them off of the parchment paper. [Tip: to prevent the meringue cracking while it cools, leave the meringues in the oven with the oven door open just a bit. This will help the meringues cool down slowly and helps prevent big cracks from forming.]
- Once the meringues are cooled, use a black edible food marker to draw the eyes and mouth on each ghost. Alternatively, you can use black icing.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
