Lemon Merengue Pie

What do you do when life hands you lemon’s? Lemon Merengue Pie of course! 🙂 A sweet pastry case and thick lemon curd centre, topped with peaks of billowy meringue, the perfect pie is all about getting the right combination of textures, and tart and sweet flavors. Here is a guide to help you make this easy pie recipe with homemade lemon filling and meringue.

 Pie Crust:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup solid vegetable shortening

3/4 cup cool water (more or less) not cold

Directions:

This pie crust recipe makes 3, 4, 8 or 9 inch crusts, so divide dough into 3 or 4 pieces. Bake at 375° for 15 ~ 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool pie shell.

Lemon Pie Filling Recipe:

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup combination of freshly squeezed and bottled lemon juice

2-3 tsp fresh lemon peel or zest, grated

4 large egg yolks, beaten

3 Tbsp butter

Directions:

**Blend sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a stainless saucepan.

**Add water, lemon juice, lemon zest and beaten egg yolks and bring to a boil on low-medium heat, stirring and whisking often. Do not allow it to stick to the bottom of the pan or burn.

**Continue to simmer until filling is thick, stirring constantly.

**Remove from heat and without stirring, let butter melt on top of filling.

**After the butter melts, stir in.

**Place plastic wrap over filling and let sit while the meringue is being made.

Meringue Recipe:

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp sugar

1/3 cup water

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

4 egg whites

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

**Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

**Combine cornstarch and 1 Tbsp sugar in a small pan. Add water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until clear and thick, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

**Mix cream of tartar and 1/2 cup sugar together and set aside.

**Meanwhile, in a high-speed mixer, whip egg whites and vanilla on high until foamy. While beating, add sugar/cream of tartar mixture 1 Tbsp at a time until meringue forms soft peaks.

**Beat the cool cornstarch mixture into the meringue 1 Tbsp at a time until meringue forms stiff peaks that stand up.

**Place baked pie crust on a baking sheet.

**Reheat lemon filling if necessary until hot, do not boil.

**Carefully pour filling into baked pie shell.

**Spread a layer of meringue over the filling and right to the ends of the shell sealing in the filling.

**Pile on the remaining meringue and swirl into decorative peaks with a spoon or spatula.

**Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes (more or less, all ovens are different) or until meringue peaks start to brown.

**Cool completely before refrigerating. Chill well before serving.