Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie
It's a Monday, three weeks into my summer break from teaching, and I've grown restless. This means only one thing- time to bake! And the lemon tree outside my window is covered in fresh, deliciously tart lemons and calling my name. It doesn't take long for me to decide what to make, as one of my all time favorite desserts is lemon meringue pie. This decision also presents me with the perfect opportunity to try making my own pie crust from scratch (I mean, how EASY are the store bought, pre-made crusts??) But today, I'm up for a challenge.
I decide to use a pie crust recipe I have on hand, one of the many in my recipe box.
1/2 cup unsalted COLD butter, cut into pieces
3-4 tablespoons cold water
1. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in food processor. Pulse to mix. Then add the butter, and pulse only a few times. The key is to not over mix, and the dough will still appear slightly dry and course. Then, add the water, a little at a time, until the dough begins to come together. I've always heard the trick to a buttery, flaky crust, is to keep chucks of butter in the dough. This can be done by using reaaallly cold butter, and by working quickly. If the butter chunks all melt, the dough won't be nearly as good. Roll the dough up into a ball, flatten slightly, and chill for at least one hour.
2. When you're ready to use the pie crust, let it thaw slightly, then roll it out on a floured surface. I rolled mine to about 12" around and 1/8" thick. I placed this inside a buttered pie pan, pressed the edges down, and trimmed the top (save the dough scraps, throw on some cinnamon and sugar, and bake these at the same time as the crust for about 8-10 minutes. They're the perfect little reward snack for a pie crust well made :) This was my FAVORITE thing to snack on as a kid, while my mom baked). You can pinch around the top edges of the pie to make it a little fancier. Fancier is always better.
3. Since I'm making a custard filled pie, I need to pre-bake my crust. If you're making fresh fruit filled pie, or a tart, you can skip this step. Preheat the over to 350, and bake the crust for 20 minutes (I suggest putting parchment down on the dough, and weighting down the crust with beans or rice- this keeps it from puffing up too much). Then, remove the parchment and weight, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
I've baked many a lemon meringue pie, and this is my favorite recipe. It's from All Recipes.
2 lemons, zested and juiced
4 eggs (separate yolks and whites)
6 tablespoons sugar (for meringue)
Heat oven to 350. Combine flour, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a pan. Set on medium heat, and stir in lemon juice, zest, and water. Bring to a boil, and add butter. Again bring to a boil. Here's the trickiest part: in order to prevent the egg yolks from cooking, you need to temper them. Simply put about 1/2 cup of hot mixture you've made into a small bowl with the yolks, continuously stirring. Then, take that mixture and put it BACK into the pan, stirring with a whisk. Cook until thick, then pour into the pre-cooked pie crust. Almost done.....
You should have 4 egg whites left over from making the lemon filling. Use those egg whites, along with the 6 tablespoons of sugar, to create this light topping. Beat egg whites on high speed with a mixer, until foamy. Add the sugar slowly, while continuing to beat the whites. After about 60-90 seconds, you should have fluffy meringue. It should appear glossy white, thick, and form stiff peaks (if you put a spatula down in it, and bring it back up, stiff "mountain peaks" should form). Gently spoon the meringue on top of your lemon filling, and spread to cover the entire top of the pie. Make sure the meringue touches all the way to the crust edges (or it will shrink down when baking, and although I'm sure it will still taste great, it won't look very pretty!) Again, if you want to be fancy, you can make a design in the meringue by weaving the spatula lightly on top of it, making small indentations.
Put the pie back into the 350 degree oven, and bake for 10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven, and allow to cool before cutting. I stick mine in the fridge to get REALLY cold before I cut it.
I was more than pleased with how the crust turned out. It was flaky and light, so I'll definitely be using this recipe again! As for the pie....while my house may not have A/C to cool me down on a hot summer day, a cool slice of lemon meringue pie definitely does the trick. If I didn't have a roommate, I'd probably wind up eating the whole damn thing!
