Do you have any words in your vocabulary that you misspell every, single, cotton-picking time you try to write them down? Meringue is one of those words for me. (Entrepreneurship and bureaucratic used to be slip-up words for me, too, but after years of writing grant proposals for the business school and taking enough poli sci courses, I think those words are finally embedded into my skull correctly! LOL)

I digress …

Unfortunately, this delicious German chocolate pie is pictured here only to taunt you; the recipe is not the purpose of today’s post. I *would* be happy to share it with you, but, you see, it was a total experiment that just-so-happened to turn out scrumptious. I made so many alterations and missteps along the way and failed to write down how much of this, that and the other. You’ll just have to trust me that it was yummy … and low-sugar, to boot! 🙂

What I will share with you, though, is the m-e-r-i-n-g-u-e topping! It is sugar-free, because I made it with Splenda/sucralose! I let it sit under the broiler for a few seconds too long, but let’s just call it caramelized instead of burnt, ok?

Meringue is very easy to make, if you know a few simple tricks. First of all, never try to whip it in a plastic bowl. I’ve always used glass, but metal might work – I’m not certain. There’s just something about plastic that won’t allow the egg whites to peak.

You can use carton egg whites (super easy and not too expensive) or separate eggs yourself. Don’t let even a smidgen of yolk into the mix!!

Using an electric hand mixer, begin whipping the egg whites on low speed until they start to get a little frothy. If you turn up the speed too quickly, you’ll splatter yourself. (Not that Yours Truly has ever done that – ha!) While whipping the eggs, slowly pour in the Splenda (if memory serves, I used about a cup of granulated Splenda for four egg whites).

As the mixture begins to thicken up, tap the surface with a fingertip and see if it leaves a peak formation. If not, keep whipping! (This is also a good opportunity to taste the meringue and see if you have added enough sweetener.) When you can tap the surface and leave a stiff peak, the meringue is ready.

Carefully scrape out the meringue (you don’t want to squish the fluffiness) and gently spread it on the pie … or just get a spoon and eat it straight from the bowl. I won’t judge. 🙂