Take Grocery Store Pumpkin Pie To The Next Level With A Fluffy Topping

Pumpkin pie is a staple of fall get-togethers, and you can find it en masse at every grocery store. While some folks swear nothing beats a homemade pumpkin pie, the ones you get at the store are often just as tasty. However, that doesn't mean you can't elevate your store-bought pie with a fluffy, sweet topping. Yes, we're talking about meringue. 

Meringue, found in French, Swiss, and Italian varieties, is a mixture of whipped egg whites and sugar. It has a sweet, almost marshmallow-like flavor that delicately complements the rich spices of pumpkin pie. As a topping, meringue is incredibly light and airy and can either serve as a firm dollop to add a bit of crispness to your pie or as a luscious, fluffy frosting that can be piled as high as you want.

Making things even sweeter is the fact that you can spice up your meringue with many things like brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, or even pumpkin pie spice if you really want to double down. Adding a bit of extra flavor to a meringue can help it stand out and give your Costco pumpkin pie a bit more pizzazz. Regardless of the type of meringue you use, they all offer a delightfully saccharine bite that tastes like heaven.

While meringue is pretty much the best topping a pumpkin pie could ask for, there are three types you can make, each of which has a unique texture. The most common is French meringue, which is the easiest to make but the least stable. French meringue combines granulated sugar with uncooked egg whites, which are whipped until stiff. This meringue is typically baked at a low temperature until the outside is crisp and the inside is chewy. French meringue is best served as a chewy dollop on a slice of pumpkin pie. 

Then you have Italian meringue, which is more stable but trickier to make. It requires cooks to slowly add hot sugar syrup, heated to 240 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, to egg whites as they are whipped. If it's added too fast, the egg whites will deflate. This type of meringue is thick, rich, and glossy. You can pipe it directly onto your pie in creative designs or simply slap a generous helping on top of a slice and dig in. 

Lastly, we have Swiss meringue, the most versatile because it can be baked or used as a topping as is. This meringue is whipped over a bath of boiling water until the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes hot to the touch. It's then removed from the heat and whipped until room temperature. Although it is less delicate than French meringue, Swiss meringue is luscious and dense but still very fluffy. Like Italian meringue, the Swiss variety can be piped onto your pie or spooned on top of a slice before eating.