Chef Joost
Bokkenpootjestaart
Goat-hoof biscuits made into a whole taart: almond meringue, chocolate, advocaat, and cream, the Dutch bakery counter quietly becoming a dinner-party secret.
Culinary Explorer
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Schuimpjes (Dutch Little Meringues)
Created by
The name means little foams, and that is the whole Dutch trick: egg white, sugar, patience, and a sweet so light it almost denies being food.
Desserts
Dutch
Christmas
Make Ahead
Budget Friendly
20 min
Active Time
1 hr 30 min cook•2 hr 30 min total
Yield45 to 55 small schuimpjes
The name already tells you almost everything. Schuim is foam, and schuimpjes are the little foams: pale pink, white, yellow, sometimes mint green, sitting among the Sinterklaas sweets as if a spoonful of cloud had been caught behaving badly. Children understand them at once. Scholars, for obvious reasons, require longer.
But let me tell you a secret. Schuimpjes belong to that clever Dutch family of sweets where thrift dresses itself as abundance. Like Haagse bluf, that grand bowl of whipped egg white and berry syrup, they make a feast out of air. Egg whites left from richer baking did not go to waste. Sugar, once expensive enough to announce prosperity, turned the leftovers into little festive coins for the sweet bowl.
The cooking is nearly nothing, which means the method matters. You are not really baking these; you are drying them. A hot oven browns the sugar and makes them sulk. A low oven coaxes the outside crisp while the middle stays dry and light, with that small chalky snap under the teeth that every Dutch child remembers from the Sinterklaas paper bag. Hou het altijd simpel: clean bowl, patient whipping, slow heat, and then leave them alone until they are ready to lift from the paper without argument.
Schuimpjes are part of the Dutch Sinterklaas and winter sweet tradition, sold with kruidnoten, pepernoten, taaitaai, and suikergoed in mixed bags for children. Their name comes plainly from Dutch schuim, foam, describing the beaten egg white that gives the candy its body; no grander etymology is needed. Meringue techniques spread through European confectionery in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as refined sugar became more available, and the Dutch home version kept the idea practical: small drops, coloured lightly, dried slowly, and stored for the feast days.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large egg whites
Quantity
3, about 90g
at room temperature
fine salt
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
lemon juice or white vinegar
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
fine caster sugar
Quantity
150g
icing sugar
Quantity
75g
sifted
vanilla sugar or vanilla extract (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or 1/2 teaspoon extract
red, yellow, or green food colouring (optional)
Quantity
a few drops
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large egg whitesat room temperature | 3, about 90g |
| fine salt | 1/4 teaspoon |
| lemon juice or white vinegar | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fine caster sugar | 150g |
| icing sugarsifted | 75g |
| vanilla sugar or vanilla extract (optional) | 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or 1/2 teaspoon extract |
| red, yellow, or green food colouring (optional) | a few drops |
Equipment Needed
- •Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- •Two baking trays
- •Baking paper
- •Piping bag with small star or plain nozzle
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the oven
Heat the oven to 90C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. If your oven runs hot, choose 80C; schuimpjes should dry pale, not tan. Sugar remembers every degree.
- 2
Whip the whites
Put the egg whites, salt, and lemon juice into a spotless bowl and whisk until they hold soft peaks. The bowl must be free of fat, because fat collapses foam with scholarly efficiency. When the peaks bend gently at the tip, you are ready for the sugar.
- 3
Add the sugar
Add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each addition, until the meringue is thick, glossy, and holds stiff peaks. Rub a little between your fingers; if it feels gritty, whisk another minute. The sugar must dissolve enough to give a crisp shell rather than a sandy bite.
Do not rush this part. The recipe is mostly air, and air needs structure. Slow sugar is what builds it. - 4
Fold and colour
Sift the icing sugar over the meringue and fold it in gently with the vanilla. If you want the old sweet-shop colours, divide the mixture and fold a few drops of colour through each bowl. Stop while the colour is still a little streaked if you like; perfect uniformity is for factory sweets.
- 5
Pipe small drops
Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a small star or plain nozzle. Pipe little drops, about 2 to 3 centimetres wide, leaving a little space between them. No piping bag? Use two teaspoons. A home kitchen is allowed to look like one.
- 6
Dry them slowly
Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through, until the schuimpjes lift cleanly from the paper and feel dry and light. Turn off the oven, prop the door open slightly, and leave them inside for 30 minutes more. This slow cooling keeps them crisp instead of sticky.
- 7
Store airtight
Let the schuimpjes cool completely, then store them in an airtight tin. They are ready when they click softly against each other, dry as little shells. Humidity is their enemy, so do not store them beside a boiling kettle or in a damp kitchen.
Chef Tips
- •Use fresh eggs, separated while cold, then let the whites come to room temperature before whipping. Cold eggs separate neatly; warmer whites whip higher.
- •Caster sugar matters because it dissolves faster than ordinary granulated sugar. If you only have granulated sugar, pulse it briefly in a food processor until finer, but do not turn it to powder.
- •Keep the colours gentle. Traditional schuimpjes are often pastel, not loud; the sweet should look like a Sinterklaas paper bag, not a carnival sign.
- •If the finished schuimpjes turn sticky after storage, dry them again at 80C for 15 to 20 minutes, then cool fully before returning them to the tin.
Advance Preparation
- •Schuimpjes keep for 2 weeks in an airtight tin in a dry cupboard, which is why they belong so naturally to feast-day planning.
- •Do not refrigerate them. The refrigerator brings dampness, and dampness turns crisp meringue tacky.
- •You can pipe the meringues smaller for mixed Sinterklaas candy bags; check them after 1 hour because tiny drops dry faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 6g)
Calories
20 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
15 mg
Total Carbohydrates
5 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
0 g
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