These 4 ingredient Kokosbusserl - Austrian Coconut Meringue Cookies are usually served during the Holidays and are dairy and gluten free which makes these ideal for those with dietary requirements. Have you ever made meringue cookies?
Meringue cookies are usually a little more work initially due to all that beating to get our meringue stiff, but once that is done, everything else is pretty simple here.
Why you'll love these
Minimal ingredients
These don't require much to make and are quick to bring together.
Crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside
Baking them effectively dries out the outside of the cookies and keeps them nice and fluffy and moist on the inside.
Ingredients for Austrian Coconut Meringue Cookies
- Egg whites: The room temperature egg whites allow more air to be introduced and create our meringues, all fluffy and white!
- Sugar: That sugar doesn't just sweeten the meringue, but helps stabilize it's shape when whipped and baked. Nice and fine icing sugar dissolves into our meringue perfectly without adding additional flavor.
- Lemon juice: The lemon juice helps to stabilize the meringue, however, this can be substituted with cream of tartar.
- Desiccated coconut: Thanks to it’s fine shredded texture, desiccated coconut is the best choice to use here which sticks to the meringue best giving a nice fluffy texture to our biscuits. It is not recommended to completely substitute the cookies with shredded or flaked coconut as the result will likely be quite different.
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment needed to make a batch
Mixing bowl: You’ll need a medium mixing bowl to make the meringue cookies.
Hand or stand mixer: To whip the egg whites, this is best done with a mixer to get as much air as possible into them to create a stable meringue. You can create this by hand, but expect to use some elbow grease because it will take
Ice Cream Scoop: The scoop used here creates large cookies with a diameter of 6 centimeters / 2.36 inches.
FAQ's for the best Austrian Coconut Meringue Cookies
Do my egg whites need to be room temperature?
Yes! Room temperature egg whites absorb air more quickly to develop a nice and stable foam - though to really stabilize that foam we’ll need an acidic element (think: lemon juice or cream of tartar). (the vinegar we use here)
Should meringue cookies be chewy?
A chewy meringue cookie is the result of a shorter baking time. When you bake whipped egg whites at a low temperature for a long time you end up with crispy or dried exterior and, depending on baking time, chewy interior. When it comes to these meringue cookies, they do not bake long enough to fully dry out so the result is rather chewy, particularly with the cornflakes becoming a slightly chewy or soft in texture when coated in the meringue.
Should you whisk meringue fast or slow?
The best result in a stable but volumized meringue is to whip it at a low, but medium speed of around 3 (depending on your beaters), this will result in introducing enough air to expand the egg whites without over whipping when you begin to introduce your sugar.
Can you beat meringue too long?
Yes you can! Over whipping egg whites can result in your meringue collapsing or weeping beads of sugar once baked. The best way to avoid over beating is to ensure you beat at a steady speed and allow at least 20-30 seconds of beating time for the sugar to dissolve between adding more and try not to beat for longer than 15 minutes (this is around the break point, I’ve noticed). Unfortunately, you cannot repair over whipped meringue, though, dependent on how over whipped they are, you could make an egg white based recipe such as macaroon’s or even a baked Alaska.
How many minutes do you beat meringue?
The length of time depends on if you’re introducing the sugar when you begin beating the egg whites or if you beat the egg whites to soft peaks and then begin adding the sugar in stages, allow at least 20-30 seconds for the sugar to dissolve before adding more. You don’t want to beat the meringue for longer than 15 minutes as this the meringue will begin to be over whipped.
Can I add a chocolate coating to my cookies?
To add a twist or sweeten these up, you can or even should either dip the bottoms of the meringues into melted chocolate or drizzle a swirly swirl of melted chocolate on top.
Can I make the Meringue cookies ahead?
Yes you can! These are best served within 3 days of being made, though you can freeze them for up to 1 month.
More Holiday cookies you'll love
Marens-Kornflexkökur - Icelandic Chocolate Cornflake Cookies
Hallongrottor - Swedish Thumbprint Cookies
Melomakaronas - Greek Holiday Cookies
How to make Austrian Coconut Meringue Cookies:
Preheat your oven to 160C/320F and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Place your egg whites into a large clean and dry bowl and beat until stiff.
Toss in a heaped tablespoonful of your sugar and beat until combined.
Repeat, adding in your sugar until it has been fully incorporated.
Add in your lemon juice and beat to combine fully.
Toss in your desiccated coconut and fold until well combined.
Scoop up a tablespoon portion of the meringue mixture and invert onto your baking tray.
Place onto the tray, ensuring there is 1 ½ inches between each cookie.
Bake for 15 minutes, until the cookies look matt in appearance and beginning to go golden on the edges.
Allow to sit on your baking tray for 3 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.
Serve up as is or dip the bases of your meringue cookies into melty chocolate.
Dig in!
Austrian Coconut Meringue Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes per batch
- Total Time: 29 minute
- Yield: Makes 16 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: Austrian
Description
Crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside is this Kokosbusserl - Austrian Coconut Meringue Cookies recipe that is gluten free and only needs a few ingredients, making it the perfect addition to a cookie box.
Ingredients
6 egg whites, room temperature
265 grams / 2 ⅓ cups confectioner’s/icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon lemon juice
300 grams / 3 ⅓ cups desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160C/320F and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Place your egg whites into a large clean and dry bowl and beat until stiff.
- Toss in a heaped tablespoonful of your sugar and beat until combined.
- Repeat, adding in your sugar until it has been fully incorporated.
- Add in your lemon juice and beat to combine fully.
- Toss in your desiccated coconut and fold until well combined.
- Scoop up a tablespoon portion of the meringue mixture and invert onto your baking tray.
- Place onto the tray, ensuring there is 1 ½ inches between each cookie.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the cookies look matt in appearance and beginning to go golden on the edges.
- Allow to sit on your baking tray for 3 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.
- Serve up as is or dip the bases of your meringue cookies into melty chocolate.
- Dig in!
Notes
Adapted from Tourmycountry.com
Keywords: meringue cookies, austrian baking, gluten free cookies
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