I love pies. Love them. When I turned 16, I asked my mom to make me pies instead of cakes for my birthday from then on. Seriously, I need to limit the number of pies that I allow myself to be around because I WILL eat them. Especially cream pies. Creamy and chocolate, creamy and fruit. Doesn’t really matter. I just love cream pies.
This past week, I opened up my old family cookbook and tried my cousin’s lemon meringue pie. It doesn’t get much better than this, even though I had a hard time making it look beautiful in the pictures. After I chilled it, the meringue formed little dark beads of perspiration on top – the pie still tasted perfectly wonderful, but the drops were a little irritating.
Ready for the recipe?
Lemon Meringue Pie
- 1½ cups sugar
- 6 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold water
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 3 egg yolks, well-beaten (reserve the egg whites for later)
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1½ cups boiling water
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- Baked pie shell
- 3 egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare pie shell.
- In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually blend in ½ cup cold water and lemon juice. When smooth, add well-beaten egg yolks and 2 T. butter. Blend thoroughly. Gradually add 1½ cups boiling water. Bring the mixture to a full boil, stirring gently. As it begins to thicken, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in lemon peel.
- Pour into a baked pie shell.
- In a new medium-sized bowl, whip 3 egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and whip to stiff peaks. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Spread meringue over lemon pie filling, sealing the edges.
- Bake 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
- Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
Note: You can use a pre-prepared pie crust or make your favorite pie crust recipe. For my favorite homemade pie crust, check out my recipe for chicken pot pie. yes, I use the same pie crust for both sweet and savory pies and it is delicious with both. For lemon meringue pie, you would only need half of this recipe.
What is your favorite kind of pie to make OR to eat?
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Lemon meringue is one of my hubbby’s favorites, but I can never get the meringue quite right! I’ll try this recipe next. Looks amazing!!
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I cannot make the Merenque, I don’t have any Tartar, do I really need it? HELP PLEASE.
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Lolli Reply:
March 21st, 2016 at 10:18 am
Cream of tartar helps to stabilize the egg whites so they hold their shape when you whip them, but I’ve heard that using a little bit of lemon juice or white vinegar can do the same thing.
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vicki Reply:
February 27th, 2017 at 9:42 am
I have heard if you throw a large marshmallow in it , that it keeps it from forming the water crystals
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Lolli Reply:
February 27th, 2017 at 11:06 pm
Oh cool! I’ll have to try that! Thanks :)
That is GORGEOUS! Thanks so much for taking the time to link up with us over at the #HomeMattersParty – we hope to see you again on Friday :) Feel free to bring a friend or two!
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Oh, yum! I love Lemon Meringue Pie :)
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Looks delicious! Thank you for the recipe
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Wow – that lemon meringue pie looks super and a very pretty photo! My favorite pie to make is an all-butter crust lattice top rhubarb pie!
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I absolutely love pie! I will take a slice of pie over a piece of cake any day! My mom always made Lemon Meringue pie growing up, as much as I love lemon, it was never my favorite. So I have never made one myself. I dont think I could narrow down my favorite pie because I love so many :) but cream pies are my favorite.
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This looks so good. Lemon meringue is my absolute favorite!
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Lolli Reply:
February 25th, 2014 at 2:16 pm
This was the first time I’ve made lemon meringue, but I have always loved eating it. I think I may have to try a few more pies before Pi Day. ;)
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