Oh, Lemon Meringue Pie....how I love thee!!!!!!
Ingredients (filling):
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
3 TBSP butter
4 TBSP lemon juice
1 1/2 TBSP lemon zest
Ingredients (meringue):
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Bake your pie crusts ahead of time.
*I cheated and used store bought pie crusts....you can make your own if that's what makes your heart smile! ;)
Directions:
I make the filling first. So....
Juice lemons until you get 4 TBSP worth.
Set aside.
(Don't throw the lemons away. You'll use them for the zest!)
Then, zest your lemons.
You need 1 1/2 TBSP of zest.
Set it aside.
In a sauce pan, mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch,
and gradually add the water.
Cook over medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and starts to boil.
We forgot to separate the eggs and egg yolks
ahead of time but it's ok.
Here's Haley doing an awesome job of separating 3 eggs.
You don't want to get ANY of the yolk in the egg white mixture because it doesn't help the meringue get stiff peaks.
We're going to take our chances! We're risk takers! ;)
Anyway, back to the filling.
Here is what it should look like when it thickens.
Add the egg yolks to the mixture!
Obviously we didn't slightly beat our egg yolks but we just mixed them into the mixture and it worked just fine!
Boil for one minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.
It should look like this! Nice and yellow!
Remember the lemon zest and juice?
Add it to the yellow mixture now!
Along with the 3 TBSP of butter.
You don't have to melt the butter ahead of time. The filling is hot and will melt the butter! Awesome!
Fill your baked pie crust and set aside.
On to the meringue!
Mix the 3 egg whites and 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
and 1/2 tsp vanilla.
You want it to look frothy.
This is important: add the 1/4 cup of sugar only 1 tsp. at a time and mix on a high speed. It takes awhile to form stiff peaks.
Seriously, make sure you add the sugar slowly!
And you keep on mixing!
Thank God for Kitchen Aids! I can just watch it do the hard work!
Eventually, it'll thicken enough and you'll be
able to form the stiff peaks.
Spread the meringue onto the filling and with a
flat spoon or spatula, pull up stiff peaks.
Make sure to cover and seal all the edges or the meringue will separate from the crust.
It will still be edible, it just won't look AS pretty! ;)
Haley and I baked two pies!
Bake for 10 minutes, until meringue is slightly brown.
Let it fully cool, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour!
That's the hard part! ;)
My sweet Haley was a fantastic helper and is so proud of her first Lemon Meringue Pie!
Happy Baking!
