These Keto Meringue Cookies are nice and crispy and full of chocolatey flavor. And they have less than 1g net carbs per cookie.
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Greetings 👋
Don't let this happen! 💩
Shape is everything here.
It's a brown meringue- not too much you can do about that. But you can choose to pipe it out or use a spoon to shape it into a cookie. Please do the latter.
Ok, let's talk through how you make these problematically shaped cookies.
🥣 Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3 tablespoons Swerve Granular
- ¼ cup Swerve Confectioners
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
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📖 Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F and cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, increase speed to high and whip until mixture forms soft peaks. Gradually add granulated sweetener and continue beating until whites are stiff and glossy.
- In a separate bowl, sift powdered sweetener with the cocoa to blend. Working in thirds, sprinkle cocoa mixture over egg whites and gently fold in until thoroughly incorporated. There should be no dry cocoa powder in the final mixture.
- Drop 12 cookie-sized dollops onto the cookie sheet with a spoon or ladle.
- Bake for 1 hour, until meringues are firm and dry. Turn oven off and let meringues sit in the oven for 15 more minutes.
- Let meringues cool on sheets on wire racks, then gently peel the cookies off the parchment paper.
💬 Any questions?
Classic meringue cookies are nearly pure sugar and have 35-40g net carbs per cookie. Not to worry though, swapping out the sugar with sugar-free erythritol lowers the net carb count to less than 1g per cookie. So you can splurge a little.
There are two common ingredients that work to stabilize meringues: lemon juice and cream of tartar. They work by lowering the pH of the egg white mixture. Since lemon juice and chocolate tastes a little hinky together, this recipe calls for cream of tartar. You can skip it in a pinch, but it does give you a firmer foam.
The chewiness is due to the water content in the cookies. Either the cookies were underbaked and not enough water was released, or the air was too humid. It's hard to control the vagaries of the weather, but you can try popping the cookies back into the oven for another 10 minutes at 200 degrees F to crisp them up a little. But I actually like some chew in my Keto Meringue Cookies, so maybe it isn't the end of the world.
Yes, you can over whip your egg whites. When they are too firm they will likely collapse. Unfortunately, there is no coming back from an over whipped meringue. Best scrape it into the trash and start over.
🥚 Tips for successful meringues
- Old egg whites tend to collapse when you fold in the chocolate, so only use fresh eggs.
- Never us packaged egg whites because the pasteurization process can prevent them from forming a stable meringue.
- Make sure that your bowl is spotlessly clean. Anything can contaminate the bowl.
- Use a metal or glass bowl, because plastic can retain a film of fat from its previous contents that can deflate the meringue.
- Make sure to use room temperature eggs. Just leave them out on the counter until they don'f feel cold to the touch anymore.
- Never let any yolk get into the whites or the egg whites won't whip properly. I always break each egg into a separate small bowl, before adding it to the large bowl with the other egg whites. That way, if any yolk gets in, it won't contaminate all the whites.
- Like, I mentioned earlier, don't over whip the egg whites. Start your mixer out on medium speed and work your way up to high. Mix until soft peaks form and then start adding the sweetener and mix until the peaks are stiff. Don't mix until stiff peaks form and then add the sweetener, or it will be over whipped and start to separate.
- Bake them at a low temperature. Don't think you can speed up the process by baking them at a higher temp.
- Avoid making Keto Meringue Cookies on humid days. If it's a bad hair day, then it's probably not a good day to make meringues.
Meringues can be finicky, that's just a fact.
Sometimes a meringue will fall and you won't know what happened. A butterfly flapped its wings in Paraguay and now you've got no low carb cookies. It just happens. But when you do it right it's like taking a bite of air.
Delicious chocolate flavored air.
Chef's kiss!
📋 Recipe
Keto Chocolate Meringue Cookies
These Keto chocolate meringue cookies are nice and crispy and full of chocolatey flavor.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 1:15
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3 tablespoons Swerve Granular
- ¼ cup Swerve Confectioners
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F and cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2. Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, increase speed to high and whip until mixture forms soft peaks. Gradually add granulated sweetener and continue beating until whites are stiff and glossy.
Step 3. In a separate bowl, sift powdered sweetener with the cocoa to blend. Working in thirds, sprinkle cocoa mixture over egg whites and gently fold in until thoroughly incorporated. There should be no dry cocoa powder in the final mixture.
Step 4. Drop 12 cookie-sized dollops onto the cookie sheet with a spoon or ladle.
Step 5. Bake for 1 hour, until meringues are firm and dry. Turn oven off and let meringues sit in oven for 15 more minutes.
Step 6. Let meringues cool on sheets on wire racks, then gently peel the cookies off the parchment paper.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cookies
- Calories: 18
- Fat: <1
- Carbohydrates: 2
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 3
Keywords: Low Carb Chocolate Meringue Cookies, Keto Chocolate Meringue Cookies, Sugar-Free Chocolate Meringue Cookies
If you liked these cookies, then you might like my recipes for Shortbread, Snow Ball, or Molasses Gingerbread Cookies.
EmilyKrill says
Oh no! Meringues are notoriously fickle I'm afraid. Even if you do everything right, they can sometimes fail. One thing to keep in mind is that the egg whites can't be contaminated with anything at all or they won't keep their shape. It's very easy to get some yolk in the whites and ruin them.
Bekah says
I have made these 2 times and screwed them up both times. When I fold in the sifted blend, it turns to brownie batter. Ugh Im frustrated.
EmilyKrill says
Well drat. I'm sorry you had to waste those ingredients. I'm not sure why you weren't able to replicate the recipe, but I'm afraid that meringues are famously tricky to make. Just make sure that the eggs are room temperature and most important of all is to keep the bowl, and egg whites completely free of any other substance. It's really easy to get some egg yolk stuck in the egg whites. That's why I always crack each egg separately into a small bowl and if it's clear of egg yolk, then I transfer it to a larger bowl. But anyway, I'm not sure what is happening but you should definitely not attempt chocolate meringues again. But I have a couple meringue cookie recipes on my site that don't involve folding in cocoa powder. You could make almond or lemon flavored meringues for instance. Hopefully you'll find a recipe that works for you.
https://www.resolutioneats.com/blog/low-carb-almond-meringue-cookies/
https://www.resolutioneats.com/blog/low-carb-lemon-meringues/
Todd says
How long do they keep? What’s the best way to store them?
EmilyKrill says
Let them cool completely to room temperature and then store them in an airtight container on the counter. They should be good for up to 2 weeks.
Holly says
I make these all the time. They are some of my favorite keto treats. Thanks for posting,
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Sure thing.
EmilyKrill says
Any time!
Kim says
Did not work at all for us. They are flat and about four of them are a dark chocolate brown and the rest look like chocolate when you find it after sitting on a shelf for two years with all the oil sucked out of it. They also stick to the parchment and the only way to eat them is to scrape them off with a fork or spoon. They crumble into a million pieces. I followed the recipe to the letter.
Emily says
Oh no! I've made these quite a few times and never had that happen. Meringues are notoriously fickle though. I'm sorry that yours didn't turn out.
Sammie says
Fantastic recipe! I had 6 egg whites left over from some keto lemon bars I made a few days ago, didn't feel like an egg white omelette, lol, so I decided to give these a try. I made 1.5 times the recipe, and made them a bit larger than called for, ended up with 15 massive cookies. I didn't bother with the cream of tartar, I never bothered with it before when I used to make non keto meringues, turned out perfectly!!!! Just an FYI, egg whites MUST be room temp or your meringue will NOT work. This was my test run for this recipe, they're fantastic! Think next time I'll either male them smaller to make keto meringue glace, or one huge shell for a keto pavlova, the possibilities with this recipe are endless. Thanks for posting such an amazing and versatile recipe, and it's guilt free to boot!!!!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Thanks!
Virginia says
Can you use a stevia baking blend for the sugar? And if so do you know what the ratio is? I already have it and dont have the $ to buy the sugar you use in this recipe.
EmilyKrill says
I don’t know what the ratio of Swerve to your Stevie Blend is, but if there is a conversion chart for the stevia and sugar on the label then I would use that 1:1. That’s because my experience has been that I can convert sugar to Swerve 1:1. But it might take a little try and error to get it right.
linda says
Hi still don't understand I'm in the UK our electric oven got up to 222degrees high which is the hottest temp,so really meringue are supposed to be cooked on very low heat lol so do u mean 125 degreese
Emily says
225 degrees Fahrenheit is equal to 110 degrees Celsius so yes, you should use the lowest setting on your oven. If 125 degrees C is the lowest that your oven goes, then that should be fine.
linda says
The cooking time isn't right 225dg is hottest a oven can be just burnt all mine in 10mins till I realized they can't be cooked this high???
Emily says
It's 225 degrees Fahrenheit, so it's actually a very low temperature. I just adjusted the recipe to make it clear what system I am using.
I am so sorry that your cookies were ruined!
Sheila says
Instead of cocoa can you use your choice of flavored extract? Lemon, cherry, vanilla etc...
Emily says
You know, I've never tried using flavored syrup, but that should work. I've made this same recipe, skipped the cocoa and added in almond extract and that was delicious. Here's that recipe https://www.resolutioneats.com/blog/low-carb-almond-meringue-cookies
Please check back in and let me know how it goes.
Deena says
Hi Emily, When measuring the Swerve confectioners sugar alone, should some be sifted first before measuring... Because it seems somewhat packed.
Thanks!
EmilyKrill says
It sounds like some moisture snuck into your bag of Swerve. Just make sure that it is always tightly sealed when you aren't using it. If you do see clumps, you should sift them out, but honestly, I've never had to do that. And I've made a lot of meringue cookies in my day.
Amy R. says
How much powdered swerve? The recipe calls for 1/4...I'm guessing cup?
Emily says
Good grief. I am so sorry. Yes, I meant a 1/4 of a cup. Fixing it now. Thanks so much for letting me know!
Tammy Ellis says
Can these be made with honey or maple syrup instead of artificial sweetener?
Emily says
No, I'm afraid not. They would be too heavy for the egg whites and the cookies would fall flat. Meringues are one of the few recipes where you can't sub in a honey or maple syrup.