Meringue Turkeys
These meringue turkeys are a fun Thanksgiving dessert with crisp exteriors, chewy centers, and colorful piped details. They’re made with a simple French meringue and decorated to look like little turkeys.
Meringue Turkeys at a Glance
- Flavor: Lightly sweet with vanilla or almond
- Texture: Crisp outside with a soft, chewy center
- Yield: About 24 turkeys that are roughly 2 1/2 inches wide
- Bake Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Cooling Time: At least 1 hour in the turned-off oven
- Storage: Up to 2 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature
How to Make Meringue Turkeys
While the recipe below is quite detailed, I find visual cues to be super helpful! Below are some photos of the process to help guide you through this recipe. I’ve also included a video in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1: Preheat the Oven & Make the Meringue
Preheat the oven to 200°F/93°C and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
Before you whip up the meringue, make sure there are no traces of grease on the whisk attachment or in your bowl.
Grease can prevent the meringue from whipping up properly. If you see or feel any grease, moisten a paper towel with vinegar and wipe the inside of the bowl and the whisk attachment to remove any grease.
Then add 4 large egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles.
Add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage and leaves visible tracks.
Gradually mix 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, into the egg whites over a few minutes while mixing on a medium-low speed.
When the meringue gets close to reaching stiff peaks, add 1/2 tsp of vanilla or almond extract. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Step 2: Color the Meringue
Scoop about one-third of the meringue into a separate bowl and color it a light golden brown with a generous squirt of brown gel food coloring.
Fold the food coloring into the meringue gently, and mix just until it’s evenly colored. If you overmix the meringue, it will lose some of its structure and be more difficult to pipe.
Scoop it into a large piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip (like a Wilton 2A). If you don’t have a piping tip that size, cut an opening at the base of the bag that’s 1/4 inch wide. Seal the top of the bag with a clip or rubber band.
Scoop 2 Tbsp of meringue into a separate bowl and color it black with a very large squirt of black gel food coloring. Scoop it into a small piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip (like a Wilton 3).
Divide the remaining meringue into three parts and color them yellow, orange, and red with gel food coloring. Scoop each color into its own piping bag fitted with a medium round piping tip (like a Wilton 10).
Step 3: Pipe the Meringues
Immediately pipe the turkeys once the meringue is colored. The meringue loses its structure as it sits, so you don’t want to dilly dally.
Start by piping the turkey feathers with the red, orange, and yellow meringue. Then pipe orange dollops beneath the feathers to be the turkey’s feet.
Next, pipe a large mound of brown meringue over the feathers and partially over the feet.
Use the orange meringue to add the beak, the red meringue to make the snood (the red dangly bit next to the beak), and then the black meringue to add the eyes.
The last step is to pipe little wings on the sides of the turkey with brown meringue. You can also add white nonpareils to the eyes if you want them to have a bit more dimension.
These don’t spread as they bake, so they can be piped about 1 inch apart.
Step 4: Bake & Gradually Cool the Meringues
Bake the tray on the middle rack of your oven for 2 hours and 30 minutes, then turn the oven off and let the meringue sit in the oven for another hour.
You can also leave them in the oven overnight once you turn the oven off. Letting them gradually cool helps prevent them from cracking.
At this point, the meringue should be fully cooked and look and feel dry to the touch. If they still seem wet or moist, leave them in the oven for another hour.
Remove the tray from the oven. They should have a crunchy exterior and a soft, chewy center. Let the meringues cool fully to room temperature, then enjoy!
How to Store Meringue Turkeys
Make sure the meringues are completely dry and cooled before storing them in an airtight container at room temperature, away from humidity and heat.
Even a little moisture in the air will cause them to soften and feel tacky, so completely avoid the fridge or freezer! It’ll just add condensation.
For extra protection, tuck a food-grade silica gel packet labeled “non-toxic” or “food safe,” or a tablespoon of uncooked rice wrapped in a paper towel, inside the container to absorb excess moisture.
When properly dried and stored, meringue cookies can stay light and crisp for up to two weeks.
Troubleshooting
Why won’t my meringue reach stiff peaks?
Even a small amount of grease or egg yolk can keep the egg whites from whipping properly. Make sure the bowl and whisk are completely grease-free and that no yolk gets into the whites.
Why are my piped turkeys losing their shape?
The meringue may have been overmixed while adding the food coloring or may have sat too long before piping. Fold in the gel coloring gently and pipe the turkeys as soon as the colors are ready.
Tips for Making the Best Meringue Turkeys
- Note that with the total bake and cool time, these need to be in the oven for at least 3 1/2 hours, if not overnight. I like to make these at the end of the day, so it doesn’t get in the way of any other baking/cooking I need the oven for.
- Separate your eggs while they’re still cold! While we want the egg whites to be room temperature when we whip them up, it’s easiest to separate them when they’re still cold.
- Use gel food coloring to color the meringue. If you try to use liquid food coloring, it can throw off the consistency and cause the meringue to be less stable.
- Beat the meringue on a medium-high speed instead of the highest speed. This will help you create a more stable meringue with smaller air bubbles that will be easier to pipe.
- Bake time can vary based on how large you pipe the turkeys and what piping tip you use. After they’ve baked and cooled in the oven, test them for doneness by gently trying to peel one off the baking mat or parchment paper. It should peel off cleanly.
- If you make these in advance and they get sticky or soft, don’t worry! Pop them in a 200°F oven for 10–15 minutes, then let them cool completely in the turned-off oven. They’ll crisp right back up.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this recipe for meringue turkeys, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a rating and comment below.
Tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets on social media so that I can see your amazing creations!
Meringue Turkeys
Equipment
- 1 Large Round Piping Tip – Like a Wilton 2A
- 3 Medium Round Piping Tips – Like a Wilton 10
- 1 Small Round Piping Tip – Like a Wilton 3
Ingredients
Meringue Turkeys
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature 120g
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar – optional
- 1 cup superfine caster or granulated sugar 200g
- 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract – optional 3g
- Red, orange, yellow, brown, and black gel food coloring
- 48 white nonpareil sprinkles (for the eyes – optional)
Instructions
Turkey Meringues
- Preheat the oven to 200°F/93°C and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
- Before you whip up the meringue, make sure there are no traces of grease on the whisk attachment or in your bowl. Grease can prevent the meringue from whipping up properly. If you see or feel any grease, moisten a paper towel with vinegar and wipe the inside of the bowl and the whisk attachment to remove any grease.
- Then add 4 large, room-temperature egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage and leaves visible tracks.
- Gradually mix 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, into the egg whites over a few minutes while mixing on a medium-low speed. Adding the sugar gradually makes a huge difference in the meringue's stability. Increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed (6 on a KitchenAid). When the meringue gets close to reaching stiff peaks, add 1/2 tsp of vanilla or almond extract. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
- Scoop about one-third of the meringue into a separate bowl and color it a light golden brown with a generous squirt of brown gel food coloring. Fold the food coloring into the meringue gently, and mix just until it's evenly colored. If you overmix the meringue, it will lose some of its structure and be more difficult to pipe. Scoop it into a large piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip (like a Wilton 2A). If you don't have a piping tip that size, cut an opening at the base of the bag that's 1/4 inch wide. Seal the top of the bag with a clip or rubber band.
- Scoop 2 Tbsp of meringue into a separate bowl and color it black with a very large squirt of black gel food coloring. Scoop it into a small piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip (like a Wilton 3).
- Divide the remaining meringue into three parts and color them yellow, orange, and red with gel food coloring. Scoop each color into its own piping bag fitted with a medium round piping tip (like a Wilton 10).
- Immediately pipe the turkeys once the meringue is colored. The meringue loses its structure as it sits, so you don't want to dilly-dally. Start by piping the turkey feathers with the red, orange, and yellow meringue. Then pipe orange dollops beneath the feathers to be the turkey's feet. Then pipe a large mound of brown meringue over the feathers and partially over the feet (see picture above for reference).
- Use the orange meringue to add the beak, the red meringue to make the snood (the red dangly bit next to the beak), and then the black meringue to add the eyes. The last step is to pipe little wings on the sides of the turkey with brown meringue. You can also add white nonpareils to the eyes if you want them to have a bit more dimension. These don't spread as they bake, so they can be piped about 1 inch apart.
- Bake the tray on the middle rack of your oven for 2 hours and 30 minutes, then turn the oven off and let the meringues sit in the oven for another hour. You can also leave them in the oven overnight once you turn it off. I usually do this and find I have the best results this way. Letting them gradually cool helps prevent cracking. At this point, the meringues should look and feel dry to the touch. If they still seem wet or moist, leave them in the oven for another hour.
- Remove the tray from the oven and let the meringues cool fully to room temperature. They should have a crunchy exterior and a soft, chewy center. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Avoid refrigerating or freezing them, since condensation can make them soft and sticky.
Video
Notes
Tips for Making the Best Turkey Meringues
- With the total bake and cool time, these need to be in the oven for at least 3 1/2 hours, if not overnight. I like to make them at the end of the day so they don’t interfere with other baking.
- Separate your eggs while they’re still cold. They separate more easily cold, but let the whites come to room temperature before whipping.
- Use gel food coloring. Liquid food coloring can thin the meringue and make it less stable.
- Beat the meringue on medium-high rather than the highest speed to create smaller, more stable air bubbles.
- Bake time can vary depending on the size of the turkeys and the piping tips used. Once baked and cooled, they should peel cleanly from the parchment or silicone mat.
- If they get sticky or soft, bake them at 200°F for 10–15 minutes, then let them cool completely in the turned-off oven.
Nutrition
Other Recipes You Might Like:
your recipe card says merinuge turkeys
but this recipe is wonderful and I intend to make these!
Whoops! I swear my brain always works faster than my hands can type! Thanks for letting me know, I just fixed it!
These came out great! We were not able to get our colors anywhere as vivied as yours but they still are cute pastel turkeys. We did leave them in the oven overnight but they were soft in the morning (even though that evening after 3 hours, they were hard). So I did put them in at 200 again. We will see how they hold up tomorrow. Very cute and fun.
Hi Jennifer,
So happy to hear they turned out great! And I hear you, you do have to add a lot of gel food coloring to get the colors really bright. I hope that re-crisping them in the oven worked, let me know! Thank you for sharing 🙂