Making a meringue is not terribly difficult, but it does require a lot of time with an electric mixer. Basically it is just super-duper whipped egg whites, with sugar.

You should probably use cream of tartar, which will make the meringue fluffier and easier to work with. I used to be scared of cream of tartar, mainly because I thought it was related to tartar sauce. But it’s not scary. I promise.

Make sure you start with a clean bowl when making a meringue. Egg whites are high-maintenance and don’t like greasy bowls.

So, you’re going to beat these egg whites, and beat them some more. And you’re going to be like, WTF, egg whites? But they still won’t be ready. You shouldn’t start adding the sugar until the egg white-cream -of-tartar-vanilla combo looks something like this:

Then add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, and whip until it looks more like this:

Then gently spread the meringue on top of your pie and bake as directed. Yummy.

Meringue for pie (From the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook)
3 egg whites (make sure the eggs and/or whites stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before beginning)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sugar

After egg whites are at room temperature, combine them with vanilla and cream of tartar in a clean bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (see photo above).

Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition, then continue to beat mixture at high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and the sugar is dissolved.

Immediately spread over hot pie filling, sealing to the edge of the pie crust and bake as directed.

A few notes:
– If little beads of moisture form on the surface of your meringue, you overbaked it. It will still taste lovely, but don’t do that next time.
– Put the meringue over the pie filling while it is still very hot, or a watery layer may form between the meringue and filling.