Meringue Recipes That Will Impress Everyone This Summer

Contrary to popular opinion, meringue recipes are always simple to follow. It's true that you have to whip egg whites , and none of us really like to do that, but with a little hand holding from French Chef Jaque Pepin , you'll soon realize that meringue recipes are as easy as one, two, three -- and they look impressive too.

The most important part is setting yourself up correctly to whip the egg whites. Be sure to use a perfectly clean, stainless steel or copper bowl. The rest is the fun part. With just a little sugar and a few egg whites, you can make decadent layered cakes -- also known as pavlovas -- airy cookies, and even little mushrooms for cake decorating. You can make fluffy cakes, frosting and those lovely little cookies that everyone loves but too many people mispronounce. (It's mah-kah-ROHN for the record.)

Light and airy, meringues are perfect for summer. So give them a shot. Once you see how approachable they are, you'll never look back. Here are 31 recipes to get you started:

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