Lemon Meringue Pie

My second favorite pie is Lemon Meringue.  In the summer, it is my favorite because it goes well with a hot summer day.  I have to take a dessert to book club today so I made a lemon pie. I thought I’d share it with you.  Again, I’m going to have to go with the store bought crust to make it simpler though.  

Pie

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water

2 large lemons

2 tablespoons butter

4 egg yolks, beaten

1 baked 9 inch pie crust

Meringue

6 egg whites

6 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and bake your pie shell as per directions on the package.  My package said 400 degree, but I baked at 350 for 10 minutes taking care to stick the crust with a fork before baking to prevent the crust from bubbling up.  Pull out as soon as it is lightly golden brown.

Separate your egg yokes and egg whites.

Juice and zest your 2 lemons. 

Lemon Filling

In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture to temper the eggs so as to not cook them. Whisk the tempered egg yolks back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat.  Pour filling through a strainer to make sure you don’t have any cooked eggs or lumps.   Pour filling into the baked pastry shell.

Meringue

In a large glass or metal bowl, whip the egg whites until they are foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.  If you like to really pile on the meringue, use more eggs whites.  I added 2 more to get the high meringue shown above.

Put the oven on broil and put the meringue pie under the boiler.  Do not walk away.  It browns very quickly and you don’t want it to burn.   It will only take a few minutes for the meringue to turn golden brown.  Let the pie cool on your counter.  If you refrigerate, the meringue will sweat. 

The house sure smells good.  Be happy and may God bless you and yours.