These easy Halloween ghost cookies or boo meringues are scary good! Make some spooky fun meringue cookies for your favorite ghouls - perfect for a Halloween party or trick-or-treating at home. These sweet ghosts will become your family's favorite Halloween treats!
These spooky treats are made with just a few simple ingredients. They're basically a meringue cookie that you make in the shape of a ghost and decorate to look like boos.
Don't worry if it's your first time making meringue---these boos don't have to be perfect. In fact, they're even more fun if they're not. And with these tips, you'll be a pro in no time.
Here's what you'll need
The boo cookie ingredients are simple and you probably already have most of them at home.
Egg whites are the base of meringue. There are two important things to remember here:
- Make sure your eggs are at room temperature. Either let them set out on the counter until they warm up, or place them in a bowl of warm water.
- Carefully separate your eggs. For your egg whites to whip up properly, you can't have even a speck of yolk in them. Separate each egg in a small bowl and make sure you have only the white before you add it to the rest.
And you'll need cream of tartar to stabilize the eggs when you whip them. You can find it online or in the spice section.
Sugar and vanilla extract round out the meringue ingredients. These simple pantry staples are all you'll need for the basic cookies. Piping and decorating them is where you can get creative.
DECORATING SUPPLIES
- Candy eyes
- Black frosting or gel frosting
- Pastry bag and piping tip - this kit has everything you'll need
EQUIPMENT
- Stand mixer with a whisk attachment
- Parchment baking paper
- Baking sheets and cooling racks
How to make meringue
Start by whipping the egg whites and cream of tartar in a perfectly clean and dry bowl (wipe the bowl and whisk with vinegar to make sure they are completely grease-free). Any oil or moisture in the bowl can prevent the egg whites from whipping up.
I highly recommend using a stand or electric mixer for making meringue (I use this one). You can use a hand mixer, but since you'll be whipping the egg whites for several minutes your arm will probably get tired. 🙂
Whip the egg whites to soft peaks (meaning the peak falls over when you lift the beater out of the mixing bowl, as in the first picture below). Then add the sugar, one spoonful at a time until it's completely incorporated.
Continue to beat the egg white to stiff peaks (the peak stands up when you lift it, as in the last picture below). Then add the vanilla and beat for a few seconds. Stop as soon as you get to the stiff peak stage, do not overbeat the egg whites.
Making the ghosts
Now it's time to pipe your meringue onto baking sheets to make the boos. For this, you'll need a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip.
The easiest way to fill the pastry bag is to set it in a tall glass and fold the sides over the rim. That way you can use both hands to scoop the meringue and fill the bag.
Holding the bag about an inch above the parchment paper, press gently on the bag and pipe your boos onto the baking sheets (you can put them close together because they don’t really spread).
Just make sure the bottom of the ghost is wider than the top and pull up while you stop squeezing the piping bag to make a little point.
Once you fill your cookie trays, add the candy eyes. Again, they don’t have to be perfect, they’re more fun if you make them silly.
Bake the trays for an hour, rotating them halfway through. If you bake them in the lower portion of the oven you won’t get browned ghosts.
Once they’re baked, turn off the oven leave the boos in the oven to cool for another hour. Then remove them from the oven to finish cooling.
Once they’re completely cool, use the black writing gel to make scary mouths and your boos are ready for your Halloween party!
These boo meringues are perfect for a spooky dessert tray or to decorate a creepy dinner table.
Halloween meringues are spooktacular treats loved by all ages. These light and airy meringue cookies are a delightful confection that will surely haunt your taste buds!
More Halloween treats to make
- Pumpkin Spice Martini - the perfect adult treat for Halloween!
- Candy Corn Bark - swap candy corn for the peppermints in this easy Oreo white chocolate bark
- Pumpkin Spice S'mores - try pumpkin spice marshmallows in these fun s'mores recipes
- Chocolate Haystacks - so easy and just three ingredients
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip - everyone loves this!
Boo Meringues
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites room temperature
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup granulated sugar or baker's sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- candy eyes
- black gel icing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200˚ and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Wipe down the mixer bowl and whisk attachment with vinegar to remove any grease, wipe dry with a clean paper towel.
- Add the cream of tartar and room temperature egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Turn the mixer on low to mix in the cream of tartar.
- Slowly increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture is foamy. Then increase the speed to high and beat until it holds soft peaks.
- With the mixer running, slowly add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Beat until it holds stiff peaks and it’s glossy. Add the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds.
- Cut the tip off of a disposable pastry bag and fit it with a one-inch tip (you can also use bigger or smaller tips). Fill the pastry bag with the meringue.
- Pipe the boos onto the prepared sheets. Make sure the bottom is wider than the top and pull up while you stop squeezing the piping bag to make a little point. You can put them close together because they don’t spread very much.
- Add eyes to the boos (they don’t have to be perfect, they’re more fun if you make them silly).
- Bake the trays for 60 minutes, rotating them halfway through. If you bake in the lower portion of the oven you won’t get browned ghosts.
- Once they’re baked, turn off the oven and leave them in the oven for 60 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let cool completely.
- Once they’re cool, use the gel frosting to add a mouth as desired.
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