Is Meringue Paleo?
Making good meringue cookies doesn’t have to be complicated. Sure, it takes a little bit of time to prepare the mixture, bake them, and then leave them to set in the oven. But other than that, this delicious meringue cookie recipe is incredibly easy to follow and produces amazing results. All you need is two egg whites, a little bit of lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and some coconut sugar.
Use Paleo Alternatives for a Great Meringue Cookie Base
Meringue is traditionally made using whipped egg whites and sugar. This recipe doesn’t veer too far away from that, opting instead to replace the refined white sugar with coconut sugar. This is an excellent choice not only because it makes the meringue cookies paleo-friendly, but because it’s also a much healthier option as well.
One of the obvious benefits of using coconut sugar is that it’s lower on the glycemic index scale, but it’s also an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. (1) Coconut sugar also has the added benefit of containing trace amounts of a dietary fiber known as inulin. All of these factors add up to make it a much better option for your paleo baking needs than normal table sugar.
Meanwhile, the whipped egg whites provide the cookies with an excellent source of protein. The whites of eggs contain more protein than the yolks do, as well as being lower in calories and cholesterol-free. They are also an excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals and may help with hypertension. (2)
Add More Depth to Your Meringue with This Secret Ingredient
You can make delicious meringue using only those two ingredients, but many people (myself included) prefer to give their meringue an element of tart as well. So with that in mind, I also add in some fresh lemon juice with this recipe. Not only does it give these cookies that final finishing touch to produce a seriously great meringue flavor, but it also helps to increase the nutritional value of the recipe as well. Lemon juice provides vitamin C, helps to improve digestion, and antioxidants that have been found to be beneficial when it comes to reducing diet-induced obesity. (3)
All you have to do is beat all of these ingredients together in a bowl until they are nice and foamy with glossy peaks. Transfer your meringue mixture into a piping bag, then pipe them out onto your baking sheet. Bake them for 90 minutes or so and then leave them in the oven for one hour with the oven turned off.
It’s as easy as that to make incredibly delicious meringue cookies that are completely paleo-friendly. You can follow the same basic premise of using coconut sugar to make paleo style meringue to use with other dessert options as well, including lemon meringue pie.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for some more ideas to make other kinds of paleo-friendly cookies, then we’ve got you covered there as well. Here’s a few of my favorite paleo cookie recipes:
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- ¼ tsp lemon juice
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup coconut sugar
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 220°F.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the egg whites in a large bowl.
- Add the lemon juice and pinch of salt and beat on medium speed until foamy.
- Gradually beat in sugar.
- Continue beating on high spread until stiff glossy peaks form.
- Transfer the meringue to a piping bag.
- Pipe small meringues onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for about 90 – 120 minutes or until firm to the touch.
- Turn off the oven (do not open oven door) and leave meringues in oven 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.
- Serve or store in an airtight container and keep in a dry place.
Can’t wait to try these!!!
AMAZING!! LOVE IT SO MUCH!
It turned out so good!
At first it did take a LOT of time to get to the desired consistency – but it was worth it!
I added 1 tablespoon of cacao and it gave it a nice chocolatey flavor 🙂