Lemon Meringue Pie (My Very Favorite!)

Well, the poll was successful.  You all chose my favorite pie to go in the first recipe post.  I must say, you have excellent tastebuds. ;)  Although I love cooking pretty much anything and would have been glad to share whichever recipe was chosen (and will still do so in a future post) I was hoping the lemon meringue pie would win!  I'm a bit partial to pies in general and lemon meringue has always been one of my best.  It is very fitting that this is the first recipe to go on here.  So without further ado...

The first thing you will need to do is make the pie crust.  I was using a previously made and frozen pie crust on this particular day so all I had to do was take it out of the freezer the day before and put it in the fridge to soften a little.  (Tip:  Making several pie crusts in one day and freezing them all for future use is super helpful for those spur-of-the-moment times when you want/need to make a pie.  And it saves time!)  I will share the recipe I use for pie crusts in an upcoming post but for now - use whichever recipe works best for you!  You can also buy pie crust pre-made at the store.  But I don't recommend it; it takes away from the fun and authenticity of your pies! :)  

Anyway, roll out your crust on a floured surface.  It doesn't matter if the edges are pretty because they will tucked under or cut off anyway.  (And I have a great tip for those left-over crust pieces that will be coming in the pie crust recipe post!)  

Once the crust has been rolled out to the desired size, fold it gently into fourths and place the corner of the fold directly in the middle of the pie plate.  Unfold, and use a fork or your fingers to decorate edge of crust as you wish.  When I make a pie where the crust needs to be cooked before adding the filling, I use pie weights to keep the crust from bubbling up and getting air holes underneath.  As an additional step, I poke holes in the pie crust bottom and sides before adding the pie weights; my grandma always did that with hers and it does help even more!

Before placing the pie crust in the oven to cook cover the edges of the crust with either a piece of foil or a pie shield.  I use a silicone pie shield - it has an adjustable size and can be washed and used over and over unlike foil.  Shielding the pie crust doesn't just prevent it from burning; I've found that it also helps the crust not to shrink as much.

While the crust is cooking, begin preparing the meringue.  The meringue recipe I use is a bit involved but it works well 99% of the time.  The first step of this involved heating up cornstarch, sugar, and water over medium heat on the stove until it is thick and bubbly.  You're supposed to stir it the entire time it's over the heat... but... I never do that. ;)  Maybe it would improve the recipe even more but it's just one thing in cooking that I never have the patience for!  Once ready, it will look all thick and goopy and honestly, rather icky, like this.

Not very appetizing, I know.  But it works!  The pie crust is probably ready to remove from the oven now. 

While that's cooling (it's supposed to cool completely before the next step), you can start with the filling.  The yummy, lemony part!  It's quite similar to the meringue actually.  Heat up cornstarch, sugar, and water until think and bubbly (stirring the whole time, yeah right!).  Then you will need to separate three egg whites and yolks.  Pour half of the goopy substance into the bowl of egg yolks and then pour it all back into the pan on the stove.  Cook for about two more minutes, continuing to stir, sort of.  Remove the pan from the heat and mix in lemon juice and butter.  At this point it will start looking more like lemon filling.

Scoop out the pie weights and immediately pour the filling into the pie crust. (My crust shrunk a bit because I forgot to add the pie shield until after it had been in the oven for a good 7 minutes.)

  Head back over to the blob of meringue sugar mixture that we left in the pan.  Beat together on high speed egg whites and a touch of salt in a medium sized bowl.  Once soft peaks have begun forming like below...

...it's time to start adding in the goop!  Add the goop a little at time.  I usually do so in three scoops.  Beat again on high speed until you have stiff peaks.

Now comes the fun part!  Well, the really fun part - each part is fun!  Use an icing spatula to spread the meringue over the lemon filling.  Make sure the meringue goes all the way to the edge of the pie so that it seals in the filling like a crust.  Add a little design with the peaks on top of the pie using the spatula.  Then pop in the oven for about 15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.  Voila! 

 You have a beautiful, delicious lemon meringue pie.  Recommended:  Refrigerate for 6 hours or so until chilled.  It's good room temperature, but it is absolutely divine cold. :)

Lemon Meringue Pie

Meringue:

1/2 c. sugar

4 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 c. cold water

3 large egg whites

1/8 tsp. salt

Filling:  

3 large egg yolks

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/3 c.  plus 1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 c. water

3 tblsp. butter

1/2 c. lemon juice

(1) Bake pie crust.  Heat oven to 350. 

(2) *Meringue -  Mix sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan.  Stir in water and cook over medium heat stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil and stir for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Cool completely while making filling.  (Hint: Place in freezer to cool faster.)

(3) *Filling - Beat egg yolks with fork and set aside.  In another saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch.  Stir in water.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil and stir for 1 minute.  Immediately stir half of the hot goop into egg yolks. then stir back into hot goop in saucepan.  Boil and stir for 2 minutes until it is very thick. (Boiling less than 2 minutes may cause filling to be too runny.)  Remove from heat.  Stir in butter and lemon juice.  

(4) *Meringue - In medium bowl, beat egg whites and salt on high speed until soft peaks begin to form.  Gradually beat in goopy, sugary mixture until stiff peaks form.

(5) Spoon filling into pie shell.  Spoon meringue onto pie filling and spread carefully with an icing spatula, being sure to seal the edges.  Bake 15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.  Cool at least 2 hours and cover.  Doesn't have to be refrigerated right away (unless you prefer it cold, like me :) ) but after two days, I would recommend refrigerating it.