Stovetop Italian Meringue

• An unbaked meringue, Italian meringue is cooked in a saucepan and can be used immediately as a dessert topping or frosting. As in other dishes, the egg whites will whip to the highest volume when brought to room temperature before beating. Cook sugar, corn syrup and water to what in candy-making is called the soft-ball stage, measured on a candy thermometer at 240 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, a small spoonful of sugar mixture, dropped into cool water, can be pressed into a soft ball with your fingers.

  Poured slowly in a thin stream into the egg whites, the syrup lightly cooks the egg whites as it is beaten in with a whisk. The meringue is then ready to be spread or piped onto a dessert and served.

Meringue Pie Topping

• A fluffy meringue pie topping depends on room-temperature egg whites, hot pie filling and a moderate oven to create a lightly browned, frothy topping. Beat egg whites, then incorporate superfine sugar and set the mixture aside while you heat the filling to be poured into your baked pie shell. Top the hot filling with the meringue to start the cooking process. Bake in a 325 F oven for 20 to 30 minutes. The sugar will lightly caramelize, creating a lightly browned outer surface. When an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the meringue reads 160 F, the meringue is done. Once the pie has cooled, it can be stored at cool room temperature if there are no eggs in the filling. A meringue-topped custard pie would require refrigeration because of the eggs. Even a cooled meringue will form beads of sticky moisture when refrigerated. If possible, make the pie the day you plan to serve it for the best possible appearance and texture.

Pavlova Meringue Shell

• Like a pie meringue, pavlova is soft on the inside, although the outer shell of a free-standing pavlova is crisp rather than caramelized. The meringue is spread in a pie plate or in a circle on parchment paper and placed in a preheated 275 F oven. Turn the oven down immediately to 250 F and bake the meringue for 60 to 70 minutes for a single large meringue, made with four egg whites and spread in a 9-inch circle. Individual pavlovas will need only 50 to 60 minutes of baking. The surface will be matte, crisp and dry, while the inside remains a texture some bakers describe as marshmallowy. Strengthen the crust and lessen sticky weeping from the moist inner filling by leaving the pavlova in the oven till completely cooled or overnight. Use pasteurized egg whites if you want to have the inside chewy because the eggs aren't completely cooked with this type of meringue.

Meringue Cookies

• Overnight resting in the oven accounts for meringue cookies sometimes being described as forgotten cookies. After an initial baking at low heat, the cookies need to be left to finish drying for an hour or more, up to overnight. This produces a cookie that is crisp and dry all the way through. Tiny cookies, containing a rounded teaspoon of meringue, can be baked to this consistency in a 225 F oven for 45 minutes on aluminum-foil covered cookie sheets. They should remain in the oven for a minimum of another hour. Larger cookies require slightly higher heat and a longer rest to achieve even dryness. Bake 2-inch-diameter meringues at 300 F, with a two-hour or overnight rest.