Adorable Easter Meringue Chicks

These Adorable Easter Meringue Chicks deserve a place on your Easter table this year. They are made with eggs whites, caster sugar, and cream of tartar and can be dressed up like chicks for the season.

» You might also like these 13 Deviled Egg Variations and these Easy Peanut Butter Easter Nests.

Easter is a fun holiday to experiment with cute and creative foods, like these deviled egg chicks. You can tell we have an affinity for chicks! Meringue is much loved in our house. My son is even willing to crack a few eggs to make it, which is a miracle.

We found this recipe and wanted to give it a try. With just a few easy decorations, you can dress up these crispy meringues to look like cute little yellow chicks with eyes, feet, and a beak. They really make the Easter dinner table or party buffet looks festive.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Egg whites – Room temperature. The egg whites will whip up better if they are warm and not straight out of the frig.
• Caster sugar – Caster sugar is a fine granulated sugar. It is between granulated sugar and confectioners sugar. You may find it labeled superfine sugar.
• Cream of tartar
• Yellow food coloring
• Orange sprinkles – We used little carrot shaped sprinkles for the beaks. You could use an orange heart shaped sprinkle too.
• Black icing tube or black food pen – This is used for the eyes. Apply after they are cooked and cooled.

How to Make Easter Meringue Chicks

Step 1: Prepare the oven

Preheat the oven to 235°F (113°C). Line two baking sheets with baking paper and set them aside. 

Step 2: Prepare the eggs

In preparation of making these chicks, get the eggs out of the fridge and separate them while they are cold. You can reserve the egg yolks for another use. Be very careful not to get any yolk into the whites, because it will keep the whites from whipping easily.

Let the egg whites warm up to room temperature before mixing them in, at least 30 minutes. Warm egg whites mix up easier than cold ones.

Step 3: Make the meringue

Add the room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is foamy and looks like soap bubbles. Start adding caster sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, letting it incorporate after each spoonful until the sugar is all added. It may take 10 to 15 minutes. The meringue should be thick and glossy and the sugar has dissolved. It is ready when you pull the beater away and a stiff peak remains and you can rub the mixture between your fingers with no gritty feeling. 

Mix in a few drops of the yellow food coloring until the mixture is your desired color. I used 8 drops.

Step 4: Make the chicks

Put a 1 cm plain tip on a piping bag and a leaf tip on another piping bag. Spoon 3/4 of the meringue into the first bag and 1/4 into the bag with the leaf tip. Squeeze mounds of meringue onto the prepared baking sheet. Each will have 2 layers, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter on bottom and slightly smaller on top.

Then take the leaf tip and make wings on

Gently press orange carrot shaped sprinkle or heart shaped sprinkle into the head of each meringue to form a beak.

Step 5: Bake

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until meringues are firm but not browned. Try not to open the oven until they are done cooking. This can cause the meringue to crack. Turn oven off. Allow the meringues to cool in the oven for at least an hour before you remove them.

I used a little tube of decorating gel to put the eyes on. You can also use a decorating food pen to draw them on.

Helpful Tips for Great Meringue

• Separate eggs cold but then bring the eggs whites to room temperature. Warm egg whites whip up faster.
• Any amount of grease or yolk in the egg whites will keep them from whipping to stiff peaks.
• Cream of tartar acts as a stabilizing agent keeping the egg whites stiff.
• If you overwhip egg whites you risk losing moisture, this affects the crispness of your final product.
• Flavor the chicks with lemon essence and citric acid to make a sherbet lemon flavor, if you like.
• If you can’t find caster sugar you can use granulated sugar, it will just take more whipping time to dissolve or you can add granulated sugar to a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

How Long Do They Keep?

These chicks can be made days ahead of time, so you don’t have to worry about adding another task to your list when cooking Easter dinner. They keep for quite a while – even up to a couple of weeks – if you can keep from eating them all before that.

How Many Chicks Does the Recipe Make?

The amount of chicks this recipe makes depends on the size of chicks you form. It’s difficult to know how to proportion the chicks the first time you make then, so you’ll have to see how they turn out. If you make the base 1 1/2″ with a smaller mound on top, you should get around 12 chicks from this recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my meringue crack?

You may be cooking them at too high of a temperature. Trying lowering the temperature, even just 10 degrees can make the difference.

Why are my meringues chewing on the inside?

These meringues should be dry and crunchy all the way through. If they come out chewy in the middle then they weren’t cooked quite long enough. Try putting them back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Unless you like the texture then they are perfect!

Why won’t my meringue mix to a stiff peak?

Meringue can be a tricky thing. The humidity can affect how it comes out. Make sure to let your egg whites get to room temperature before you start. Add an 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tarter for each egg you are using. Add the sugar slowly at a medium mixer speed and keep mixing until all the sugar has dissolved. Work quickly once you start piping. The long the chicks sit out before cooking the droopier they get.

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