Meringue

Maybe it’s the meringue poised delicately atop a cream pie, pudding or cake that men dote on. Whatever it is, there’s one thing certain, when a desert contains a meringue a good one proves the making of it.
Many excellent cooks have repeatedly admitted to us that they find meringues a problem. Of the three types, the soft, the hard and the Italian or basic (made by pouring hot syrup over egg whites); the soft meringue usually causes the most trouble. The chief complaint seems to be that the meringue shrinks and is watery. Others say that the egg whites become tough, that the sugar spots or that the whole mixture falls flat.
All of these difficulties may be overcome if the egg whites are whipped at room temperature and if the correct procedure (such as given in the first recipe below) is followed.
A fine granulated sugar is the best kind to use for meringues. It must be beaten in gradually and completely dissolved. True enough, powdered sugar will dissolve easier, but it has the tendency to decrease the volume of the egg white mixture.
A meringue baked in a slow oven may shrink and become watery. Occasionally, it will be tough and hard to cut. In such a case a buttered or dampened knife will facilitate the serving.
On the other hand a meringue which is baked in a hot oven or placed under a broiler will brown too quickly and not be cooked through. (An exception to the rule is the baked Alaska, which must be cooked quickly to prevent the heat from melting the ice cream.) For general purposes use a moderate 350-degree oven.
Soft Meringue
2 egg whites
¼ t salt
¼ t flavoring
4 T fine granulated sugar.
Have the egg whites at room temperature. Add salt and flavoring before beating. Measure out sugar. Beat egg whites to a stiff foam. Add sugar 1 T at a time, beating after each addition. When the last sugar is added beat until the mixture piles well and all of the sugar is dissolved. Spread well over the pie, cake or pudding. Bake at 350 degrees until well browned.
Note: This recipe is a newspaper clipping with a “seal” stating: Kitchen-Proved Institute of Home Economics – in the center of the “seal” is Detroit Free Press. There is no date. I love how smarmy the article is though.