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Lemon Meringue Pie

When you want to make something impressive and tasty, this lemon meringue pie is the dessert to make. The tart and creamy lemon custard filling is topped with mile-high meringue. Light, airy and scrumptious. This pie just melts in your mouth.
 My Grand Mother’s Pie Recipe
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: christmas recipe, Holiday recipe, summer dessert, summer recipe
Servings: 8 Servings (1 pie)
Calories: 472kcal

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Fluted Pie Pan
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Ingredients

  • 1 9-inch pie crust purchased or homemade. See the homemade pie crust recipe on this blog.

Lemon Filling

  • 1 1/2 Cups sugar
  • 1/3 Cup corn starch
  • 1/4 Tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 Cups Hot Water
  • 5 Egg Yolks slightly beaten. some recipes call for 4 egg yolks, but I like 5 egg whites for the meringue and don’t like to waste. slightly beat egg yolks
  • 4 TBL Lemon Juice
  • 1 1/2 TBL Lemon Zest Zest of 2 lemons zested and chopped finely.
  • 3 Tbl. butter Must be butter-no substitutions or this may not turn out the same

Mile-High Meringue Topping

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup cold water
  • 5 Egg Whites
  • 1 Cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 Tsp. Cream of Tartar
  • 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract optional

Instructions

Pie shell

  • Can use purchased or homemade. There is a link to my recipe above for homemade pie pastry. Roll out dough for 1 pie pan. Dock and blind bake in a pre-heated oven to 350 degrees F. Pre-bake the pie 15 minutes until golden brown. Let cool while making the filling.

Lemon Curd Filling

  • In a saucepan add the sugar, corn starch, and salt. Gradually stir in the hot water. Cook over moderate heat, stirring consistently until the mixture boils and thickens. Boil approximately 1 minute. (make sure that you scrape the bottom, so the mixture does not burn).
  • Add 1 or 2 ladles of the hot mixture into the slightly beaten egg yolks. Whisking constantly until incorporated. Then take this mixture and add it to the hot mixture, whisking constantly.
  • Return to the stove and boil 1 minute longer, stirring constantly.
  • Remove from heat. Continue stirring and add the lemon juice and lemon zest. Also add in the butter one Tbl. at a time.
  • Pour into the baked and cooled pie shell. Let sit to cool while you are making the meringue.

Mile High Meringue Topping

  • Begin by preparing the corn starch mixture for the meringue. In a small saucepan, on medium heat, whisk together the cornstarch and cold water until the cornstarch dissolves. Continue heating until the mixture starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
  • In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until frothy.
  • Gradually beat in the sugar a little bit at a time. Continue to beating until there are stiff and glossy peaks. Add the corn starch mixture a little at a time and continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
  • Gently spoon the meringue onto the pie filling. Make sure to spread the filling out to the edge of the pie shell to prevent shrinking. Also, if the filling is exposed to the heat from the baking process, it may weep.
  • Swirl and pull up points of the meringue to create a decorative top. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake approximately 10-15 minutes or until the meringue is golden brown.
  • Cool the pie gradually in a slightly warm place. (A chill may make the meringue fall).

Notes

Tips for Pie Success

Best lemons for Lemon Meringue Pie. If you can find them, use Meyer lemons, if they are not available by use, then regular supermarket lemons will work fine.
Wash the fruit before zesting. Whenever I purchase lemons, limes, or oranges and I plan on zesting them, I make sure to wash and dry the fruit thoroughly before zesting.
Do Not over boil the lemon filling. Once the custard coats the back of a wooden spoon, take it off the heat and let it cool. If you boil it too long, it will break down and become soupy.
For picture perfect pie slices use a sharp knife that has been dipped in water, then dried off. When cutting into the pie, the knife will glide right through. Every few slices you may have to dip the knife and wipe it off again, but it is worth the beautiful slices you get.

Tips for That Perfect Meringue Topping

Use older eggs. I use eggs that have been in my refrigerator a few weeks. I am not sure why, but older eggs make better meringue. Further, room temperature egg whites beat faster and higher too.
Make your pie on a day with low humidity for best results. The humidity in the air can make the meringue weep.
Do not overbake the meringue. This can also cause it to weep. Make sure to check the pie at the recommended time.

Nutrition

Calories: 472kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 134mg | Sodium: 242mg | Potassium: 141mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 63g | Vitamin A: 303IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg