Sure Fire Favorites: Old-Fashioned Southern Lemon Meringue Pie

For some reason, I've had a craving for lemon meringue pie for about 2 months. This has long been a favorite of mine- my mother would make it for my birthday... but I've never really been able to master the thing and as any of you who know me know-- my mom did not use recipes. Therefore, I've been about the task of recreating her recipe and think I finally have it down. Lemon meringue pie is finicky, I've decided. It does not like too much humidity. It does not like too much heat. But even if it fails to set up properly or the meringue gets a bit sticky, there is still no better pie to me than this one. Hey, and if it doesn't set up, you can always use a spoon:)

OLD-FASHIONED SOUTHERN LEMON MERINGUE PIE

This can be used for tarts or for a pie. It will make about 12 tarts. One thing I learned from several mistakes is to pay attention to the directions and stir, stir, stir. Don't get distracted:)

You will need one crust, the filling, and the meringue topping. This took me about an hour, start to finish, not including the time to cool the pie completely before serving.

PASTRY PIE CRUST

I picked up some tricks from Alton Brown for crust making... I think my mom would have approved.

Makes a 9-inch pie crust

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt (use regular table salt)

1/3 cup butter, chilled for 20 minutes

2 tablespoons shortening, chilled for 20 minutes (Alton uses lard-I chose Crisco)

3 tablespoons ice water (sprinkled in one at a time and you may need 4 depending on consistency)

Use a food processor with the blade attachment. Add the flour and salt. Pulse twice to combine. Then cut the butter into small cubes. Pulse a few times. Add the shortening. Pulse a few more times - until the mixture looks a bit like little peas. Be careful not to over mix. Next, let the processor run and drizzle in the ice water one tablespoon at at time until the dough just starts to come together. You may only need 3 tablespoons. Some days I have needed 4 so that the dough starts to form into a ball. Don't over mix it. Stop the food processor just as it starts to come together.

Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic. Working quickly so the heat from your hands does not melt the butter, form into a disc. Wrap in the plastic and refigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

To use: lightly flour the surface of another piece of plastic wrap and your rolling pin (and your hands). Gently roll out the crust, taking care to work quickly and not over handle or over work the dough. Use the plastic to drape the crust over the pie plate. Put a second pie plate over the top of it to gently press the dough into the pie plate. Remove the plastic wrap and you've got a pretty great looking pie crust. Easy, peasy.

You have to blind bake this pie crust before filling it. Prick the sides and the bottom with a fork. This prevents the pastry crust from puffing up too much. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

LEMON MERINGUE FILLING

For a 9 inch pie or 12-15 tarts, depending on the size of your tart pan

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk

4 egg yolks, beaten well. Reserve the whites for the meringue.

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tablespoons butter, room temperature

 In a heat-proof bowl, add the egg yolks and beat them well until they are slightly thickened. Add the sugar, salt, and cornstarch to a saucepan. Use a fork to combine the ingredients. Add the milk, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring each addition to incorporate very well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil one minute, stirring constantly to keep it from burning. Remove from the heat. Carefully temper the egg yolks with the hot mixture... add 1/4 cup of the hot liquid into the eggs, stirring constantly, to bring the eggs up to temperature. (If you do this step too quickly, you will end up with scrambled eggs) Add another 1/4 cup of the hot mixture to the eggs and then turn the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan.

Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and butter. Stir well to combine. Pour into the baked pie shell once you have the meringue ready to go. Some people butter the bottom of a baked pie shell to act as a barrier between the filling and the crust so it won't get soggy. I did not do this step but you can if you like.

MERINGUE

4 egg whites

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (find it in the spice aisle)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Put the egg whites in a mixing bowl. Add the cream of tartar. Beat on high speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time until all the sugar is added and stiff, shiny peaks form. This takes about 3-4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Spread the meringue over the hot pie filling. The key is to make sure to seal the edges so the meringue doesn't shrink away from the crust.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Put the pie on a wire baking rack and allow it to cool before cutting it. I usually allow it to sit for 20 minutes and then put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.

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