Collections of Recipes
Grandma's Selections
Recipes by Course
Recipes by Season
Ask Betty!
Do you have any cooking questionsor need a cooking tip?
Send a question and I will try to answer.
Ask Betty
- Hello Grandma! Years ago, I received your recipe cards and amongst them was a delicious Rice Krispie/ice cream pie. It...
- I would like your recipe for hash brown quiche. Thank you. --Jeannie
- I would like to have a spinach dip recipe, please. --Annie
- I have your recipe box which I got from my daughter and it had a meal called two cheese macaroni and cheese. I lost...
Weepy Meringue
I have been baking forever but no matter how much I read up on meringue pies, mine always weep. I make my custard, then put it in the pie shell while I am making the meringue. I whip the egg whites till frothy then start adding my sugar slowly and some cream of tarter. Whip till soft peaks form, then spread out on the custard pie completely to the end of the pan, covering every inch. Bake for 10 minutes or so, take out of oven let cool a couple of hours and the result is a weeping pie. What am I doing wrong?
--Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Meringue can be tough -- enough to make you, well, weep! My first suggestion is that if you live in a humid climate and want to make meringue pie, you should move! Meringues just don’t like humid sticky weather. Seriously, if uprooting your life is not an option at this time, here a couple of other suggestions:
You’re right to spread the meringue completely over the pie, but you also want to spread the meringue over the custard when it is piping hot. This will mean whipping up the meringue first and letting it sit for a few minutes while you make the custard– that’s fine. It’s more important that the custard is as hot as it can be when you spread on the meringue.
If that doesn’t work, try adding a teaspoon of cornstarch to the egg whites to help stabilize them and absorb some of the excess moisture.
And finally, you might try sprinkling a thin layer of very fine cake crumbs on top of the custard before spreading on the meringue. Some cooks think the crumbs will absorb any excess moisture.
Hope this helps – let me know if you try any of these suggestions!

-
QuestionDo you have any recipes for burritos and tacos with ground beef? --TinaMarch 2012
-
Question
Can you add a beef short rib recipe?
—Thomas
May 2012 -
Question
Betty, I need a recipe for jumbo stuffed pasta....can you help?
—Gail
May 2012 -
QuestionGood morning. Could you please add a recipe for Chicken Diane? Thank you. --GlendaMarch 2012
-
QuestionI am looking for homemade recipes for strawberry-rhubarb pies and jams. Thank you.March 2012
-
QuestionDoes anyone make a good, simple marble cake today? It's what I always wanted on my birthday, and now, if you try and get one, it's a special order. --MikeMarch 2012
-
QuestionI am using Egg Beaters instead of real eggs for health purposes and some recipes call for so many large egg whites or yolks. When I cook with Egg Beaters and it is just whole eggs the recipe calls for, I use 1/4 cup per egg, like the carton says to. But I don't know how to measure for just the yolks or whites. Can you help me with this? Measuring-wise, how much is 1 yolk and 1 white? Thank you. --CharMarch 2012
-
QuestionI would like you to add a Dutch Apple Pie recipe. I always have to look up the recipe for the topping. --TeresaMarch 2012
-
QuestionI had a recipe from Grandmas and this weekend I took it to the store with me and lost it. I have all of the ingredients and was so excited to try the recipe again. I looked on the website and it is not there. Do you still have the Chicken Stroganoff recipe? Where can I find it? Thanks. --KatherineMarch 2012
-
QuestionI got a recipe card in the mail many years ago and it's the only banana bread I will ever make again. I wanted to share it with friends as a holiday gift and was hoping to find it on here so I could just send a link. Thank you. --DixieMarch 2012






What Others Have To Say
I use to have to same problem. I found a solution but having the pudding mixture as hot as possibly by leaving it in the pan on the hot burner but fire out when i start making my meringue. I whip my meringue alittle more then soft pikes, more like middle soft pikes then spread it all over the pudding mix and out to the very edge of pie crust. I cook it at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the meringue doesn't wiggle when you shake it gently. sometimes I cook it so long that he top is a very little brown but it tastes so much better than the white top with little brown that it help me win prizes at our state fair.
thanks so much I will try anything at this point.