These vanilla flavored cloud cookies are so light and airy. The cookies need just 3 ingredients and don’t require flour, butter or oil. The cookies store well and can be easily customized.
These cloud cookies are great for any event. You can also make different shapes and colors to fit the occasion. They are lightly crisp on the outside, with an airy, soft chewy center.
Ingredients
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Vanilla
You can also add food coloring if you want to make the cookies different colors.
Eggs: Eggs are the key to the structure for these cookies. These are a meringue type cookie so the eggs, sugar and vanilla are whipped to a meringue consistency.
Sugar: This recipe works best with superfine sugar, also known as caster sugar. Superfine sugar melts faster and easier than regular sugar. While you can make these with regular granulated sugar, I don’t recommend it. The cooking time and preparation time would both take longer. The cookies would also be darker in color (a light tan color instead of offwhite) and it takes longer for the cookies to develop their soft and chewy texture.
Vanilla: Vanilla extract is used to give the cookies their vanilla flavor.
How to Make Vanilla Cloud Cookies
- The eggs are first beaten in a stand mixer until soft peaks are about to form. The sugar is then gradually added in with the mixer still running. Continue to beat until the mixture reaches stiff peaks.
- Add in the vanilla and beat again until the vanilla is incorporated and the batter reaches stiff peaks again.
- If adding food coloring, add it in now and beat until the batter is uniform and has medium to stiff peaks.
- Use an open star tip, or whatever piping tip you prefer, to pipe circles onto your prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for about 1 hour at 225F. Remove cookies from the baking sheet and allow them to cool before storing them in an airtight container.
Texture
These cookies are a meringue-type of cookie but they do not taste like classic meringue cookies. Classic meringue cookies are known for their very crisp texture and they are supposed to be crispy all the way through. These cookies are removed from the oven before they are dried all the way through. As a result, the inside of the cookies are airy, soft, chewy and melt in your mouth. It’s a delightful texture that my family really loves.
Expert Tips
- If you don’t add food coloring, the cookies will have an offwhite color. I usually make them plain without food coloring if they are just going to be a casual dessert for my family, but I add food coloring if I’m making them for an event.
- Vanilla bean paste will make the cookies have a darker color, so I don’t recommend using vanilla paste.
- The cookies work best with superfine sugar which is sometimes sold as caster sugar, ultrafine sugar or baker’s sugar.
More Cloud Cookie Recipes
- 3 Ingredient Coconut Cloud Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Lemon Cloud Cookies
- 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cloud Cookies
3 Ingredient Vanilla Cloud Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature about 68 grams
- 1/2 cup (99 g) superfine caster sugar
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225°F (107°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Using the wire whisk attachment, beat at medium high speed until the eggs are foamy and soft peaks are starting to form.
- With the machine still running, slowly add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of it is added. Do not stop the machine to scrape any sugar that might be on the sides of the bowl. Once all the sugar is added, you can increase mixer speed and continue to beat until mixture is thick, glossy and stiff peaks form. Once the peaks form, you can scrape the sides to get any sugar that stuck to the sides, add it back into the mixture and then beat on high for a few more seconds until that excess sugar is incorporated.
- Add in vanilla extract and mix on high speed until it is incorporated and the meringue still has stiff peaks. My meringue softened after adding the vanilla, but beating it at highest speed allowed the meringue to stiffen again. If adding food coloring, add it in now. You will want to mix on high speed for about 30 seconds until the batter is uniform in color. The meringue will be a little softer but still should be medium to stiff peaks
- Transfer the meringue to a large piping bag with an open star tip. I used a Wilton 4b tip.
- Pipe the meringue into rounds between 1.5 inches and 2 inches wide onto the prepared baking sheet. Try to make the meringues all about the same size. The cookies can be piped pretty close together as they do not spread much. To pipe the shape I made, I piped a circle and then I add another partial layer on top to close up the circle so there is no hole in the middle.
- Wet your finger and gently press down on the tops to remove the little points on the cookies.
- Put the cookies in the preheated oven and bake cookies for 1 hour. Check on the cookies after 1 hour and if you are able to peel them off the parchment easily, then they are done. When I bake these cookies, they are usually mostly done at the one hour mark but some of them are sometimes not ready if they were a little bigger/thicker/etc. If there are cookies still sticking to the parchment, remove all the cookies that are done and then put the unfinished cookies back in the oven (with the oven off) for an additional 30-60 minutes to allow them to dry/cook further with the residual heat. The cookies are done when you can peel them off the parchment paper.
- Cookies should be firm on the outside but should be soft and chewy on the inside. If you cooked them too long and they are fully crisp on the inside, let them sit at room temperature for about 1-3 hours, until the inside is soft but the outside is still firm and not sticky.
- Store cookies in an airtight container to prevent them from absorbing too much moisture and turning sticky on the outside. Cookies can be stored at room temperature for about 1-2 days and longer in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- I used India Tree Superfine Caster Sugar.*
- I used Wilton 4B piping tip.
- *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- If you are not experienced with making meringue or are working in a very warm or humid environment, you can add 1/4 tsp tartar to the egg whites. It is not needed and I don't use it, but it does help ensure that you will have a stiff meringue batter.
- To successfully make meringue, make sure your egg whites don't have any egg yolk (not even a drop), and your mixing bowl, wire whisk attachment and anything else the egg whites touch must be clean without any grease. When making the meringue, make sure to stop the mixture once it has reached stiff peaks. If you mix too long the meringue will become too stiff and break down again.
- These are a meringue type of cookie but don't have the same texture as classic meringue cookies. When the cookies are done, they will be crisp on the outside and airy, soft and chewy on the inside
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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Look very tasty have to try
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