Chocolate Meringue Bars

Throughout my childhood, baked meringue was always a disappointment to me—I wanted cool, creamy whipped cream on those pies and bars, not overly sweet egg whites. My grandma did not share this opinion, however, and topped many of her pies with a thick layer. Now that I’m older, I’ve grown to appreciate meringue, even in baked form. I prefer it swirled into batter, as both the meringue and the batter benefit from intermingling; the batter is lightened slightly, and the sweetness of the merin