Meringue Cookies Always Fall Flat

I live at 6500 feet, and this is the only thing I can imagine that is causing problems in my meringue-making. I have tried umpteen times to get nice meringue cookies, but even if they look like they're going to work, they ALWAYS turn into flat, crispy disks that have to be scraped off of the cookie sheet. HELP!

Posted by: lacrema
June 19, 2012

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5 Comments

5 Comments

drbabs June 21, 2012

I'm definitely not at high altitude, but I find that a pinch of kosher salt added to the egg whites really helps them stiffen up.

lacrema June 21, 2012

Thank you for the suggestions! My recipe (from Cook's Illustrated) did have cream of tartar, but I will try upping it and maybe adding corn starch as well.

chefsusie June 19, 2012

Perhaps this webpage/site will give you some insight.

http://www.lespetitsmacarons.com/HighAltitude.html

bigpan June 19, 2012

At your altitude you need to stabilize the whites. A bit of corn starch can help but cream of tartar is better, or whisk in a copper bowl (which is a natural stabilizer).

HalfPint June 19, 2012

Have you tried adding a bit of cornstarch? The small amount of cornstarch (~1TB) seems to help make the meringues more stable, though the texture might be a bit different (more crispy)

This is for a meringue pie, but I think the solution (adding cornstarch) would work for your cookies:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/high-altitude-meringue-for-pie/detail.aspx

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