This Perfect Chocolate Strawberry Meringue Cookies recipe yields crunchy baked meringues flavored with freeze-dried strawberries and dipped in chocolate. These piped meringue kisses are full of natural strawberry flavor, and have an airy texture inside. They're perfect for Valentine's Day because they're like chocolate-covered strawberries, but they last a lot longer and you don't have to rely on peak fresh strawberry season.
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I originally made a raspberry version of these cookies a few years ago using Nature Restore's raspberry juice powder. If you're more of a raspberry fan, I definitely recommend those instead. This year, Nature Restore asked me to develop a recipe using their strawberry powder. I love it because it is just plain freeze-dried strawberries in powder form, so it's a lot less work than having to grind and sift your own. But you can also absolutely use freeze-dried strawberries (whole, then ground), if that's all you have on hand.
I love meringue cookies, or meringue kisses, because they are all the fun of a pavlova, but with a lot shorter bake and rest time. Pavlovas can take up to 3 hours to bake, and most need a 6 hour cooling off period in the oven. These perfect meringues bake up in just 90 minutes (or less depending on your oven). They also don't require a ton of decorating experience. The chocolate dip is easy and so chic. However, just like a pavlova, you need to make these on a dry day. Rainy days are not good for baked meringue. The humidity can cause the meringue to weep or deflate. If you're looking for something to do with the leftover egg yolk, I recommend ice cream or homemade pudding.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- These strawberry meringue cookies are perfectly CRUNCHY. My pregnant sister says they're her new texture craving fixation!
- The strawberry flavor is natural and easy to add.
- The chocolate dip gives a bit of decadence to these.
- You can store meringue kisses for up to two weeks!
Ingredients
- Egg whites are the base of the cookies. Be sure to use egg whites that are not contaminated with any egg yolk as they may not whip up properly. Use room temperature eggs, if possible, or separate the egg whites while cold and then let them sit out until room temperature.
- Cream of tartar gives more stability to the whipped egg whites.
- Kosher salt and vanilla extract balance the overall flavor profile.
- Caster sugar is sugar with a bit smaller granules than granulated sugar. I make my own by pulsing granulated sugar a few times in a blender. You can also do this in a food processor.
- Strawberry powder is just freeze-dried strawberries. I used Nature Restore's strawberry powder, but you can also buy freeze-dried strawberries, blend them and sift out the seeds yourself.
- I used 1 drop of red food coloring to enhance the pinky color, but you can leave it out.
- I prefer dark chocolate melting wafers for dipping, but you can also use white or milk chocolate wafers. I prefer Ghirardelli brand, but anything labeled melting wafers will work.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and variations
Here's how to customize these perfect chocolate strawberry meringue cookies to your liking:
- Another fruit — you can substitute most freeze-dried fruit from the grocery store for the strawberry powder. I would start with 1 tablespoon of the fruit powder to begin with and keep an eye on the consistency of the meringue. If it starts to look too stiff or lumpy, stop adding the powder. Some fruits have more starches than others and this can negatively affect the outcome.
- Chocolate — swap the dark chocolate melting wafers for milk chocolate or white chocolate melting wafers. If you don't have melting wafers, you can use chocolate chips. Melt chocolate chips in short spurts in the microwave with a bit of coconut oil or avocado oil to thin it out. You may need to refrigerate or freeze the dipped meringues for the chocolate to harden.
- No cream of tartar — swap cream of tartar for 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
- No food coloring — the food coloring is optional. I just use barely one drop to amplify the pink color, but you can leave it out without issue.
- No strawberry powder — swap the strawberry powder for 1 teaspoon of strawberry extract or essence. Taste and add more as needed before piping.
- No parchment paper — if you don't have parchment paper you can bake these on oven-proof silicone mats.
- Cocoa powder — fold in ¼ cup of sifted cocoa powder into the meringue.
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This recipe has not been tested with any substitutions or variations. If you try any, please let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
How to make Perfect Chocolate Strawberry Meringue Cookies Step-By-Step
Step 1: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 215°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with electric beaters, add the egg whites, cream of tartar, pinch of salt and vanilla.
Step 2: Start to whisk egg whites on medium-high. When the egg whites are foamy with barely soft peaks, very gradually add the sugar a little bit at a time (about 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not add it all at once or you risk deflating the meringue, or the sugar may not dissolve all the way and they will not bake up properly. Stop whipping when stiff peaks are achieved.
Step 3: Add 1 tablespoon of the strawberry powder and whip on high speed just until mixed in. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of strawberry powder and whip until incorporated. Add food coloring, if desired, and whip just until incorporated.
Step 4: Carefully transfer the meringue to a large piping bag fitted with a large french star tip.Pipe meringue kisses 1-inch apart on a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 60-90 minutes. The meringues are done when they are hard to the touch and can easily be removed from the baking pan. Cool on a cooling rack.
Step 5: Melt chocolate wafers in 30 second increments in the microwave in a small bowl, stirring between heating. Dip the bottom of the meringue kisses in the chocolate, shaking away the excess.
Step 6: Roll the sides of the meringue kisses in the chopped freeze-dried strawberries. Place on parchment to let the chocolate harden before storing in an airtight container.
Top tips
- For the best possible cookie, be sure to gradually add the sugar! In testing once I added the sugar too quickly and it did not mix in, which resulted in weepy, bumpy meringues that never crisped up properly. This goes for regular meringue too! For example, for a soft meringue for decorating cakes and tarts, you want the sugar properly dissolved for a super stable meringue.
- Don't skip wiping down all bowls and utensils with vinegar to remove oil residue. Even a tiny bit of oil can stop the egg whites from whipping up properly.
- My final trick is to make sure to give the cookies their signature flick when piping them. You'll want a tip to hold on to when dipping into chocolate.
Recipe FAQs
Store meringue cookies (meringue kisses) for up to two weeks in an airtight container. You can also freeze them for up to 2 months.
It is either too humid, or the sugar was not completely dissolved into the meringue so it is weeping out.
According to King Arthur Baking, yes you can use meringue powder. Dissolve ¾ cup granulated sugar in ½ cup boiling water; cool. Add ¼ cup meringue powder, and beat until peaks form. Add the strawberry powder, pipe and bake as directed in the recipe card.
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📖 Recipe
Perfect Chocolate Strawberry Meringue Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Strawberry meringue kisses
- 3 large egg whites (90g)
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- Pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup caster sugar* (150g)
- 2 tablespoons strawberry powder I used Nature Restore**
- 1 drop red food coloring optional
Garnish
- ½ cup dark chocolate melting wafers
- ¼ cup freeze-dried strawberries finely chopped
Instructions
Do ahead
- Wipe down all bowls and utensils with vinegar to remove any oil residue. Oil is the enemy of whipping egg whites.
- Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Make the meringues
- Preheat the oven to 215°F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg whites, cream of tartar, pinch of salt and vanilla.
- Start whipping the mixture on medium-high, very gradually adding sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Do not add it all at once or you risk deflating the meringue, or the sugar may not dissolve all the way and they will not bake up properly.
- Stop whipping when stiff peaks are achieved.
- Sift in 1 tablespoon of the strawberry powder and whip just until mixed in. Sift in the remaining 1 tablespoon of strawberry powder and whip until incorporated. Add food coloring, if desired, and whip just until incorporated.
- Carefully transfer the meringue to a large piping bag fitted with a large french star tip.Pipe meringue kisses 1-inch apart on a prepared baking sheet.
Bake the meringues
- Bake for 60-90 minutes. The meringues are done when they are hard to the touch and can easily be removed from the baking pan. Cool on a cooling rack.
Garnish the meringues
- Melt chocolate wafers in 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring between heating. Dip the bottom of the meringue kisses in the chocolate, shaking away the excess.
- Roll the sides of the meringue kisses in the chopped freeze-dried strawberries. Place on parchment to let the chocolate harden before storing in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published 2/9/2026.
Perfectly crunchy and a great natural strawberry flavor! Full disclosure, I am the author of this recipe.