Lemon meringue pie

Lemon Meringue Pie

Can a person survive on lemon meringue pie?  I kinda did for two days.  Well, not pie alone.  More like pie and iced coffee.  Just for the record, I’ve experienced no ill effects.  And no scurvy either.  {tee hee}

I can’t say enough about how much I love this pie!  Lemon meringue pie actually reminds me of my mom, because any time I’ve ever eaten it, it’s been one she’s baked.  Always delicious.  I’ve never made one of my own before, and since it was my turn to choose what Ingrid, Monica, and I baked together, I picked a lemon meringue pie made from scratch.

It was so surprisingly easy!  If I had known that, I’d have made it a long time ago.  This is an Emeril Lagasse recipe and I found that I have only one complaint.  Emeril suggests baking the pie crust using pie weights.  You know when you see a cartoon character trying to make a decision and there’s an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other?  Instead, I had  Emeril on one shoulder and my mom on the other.  They weren’t necessarily looking devilish or angelic, but you get the point.  My mom never uses pie weights.  Instead, she uses a fork to prick her crust all over before baking it and she never has this puffy pie crust problem.  My crust puffed up and shrunk up a lot, and I can only blame myself.  I should have listened to my mom.  She said so too.  Lesson learned.

The crust tasted delicious though – not a bit soggy and with a wonderful flakiness and flavor.  The lemon filling was just the perfect tartness.  Smooth and creamy and wonderful.  I thought the meringue was perfect, too, when it came out of the oven.  But after cooling it on the counter, I came back to find the meringue covered in all these little droplets of moisture.  This could have happened for a couple reasons – overbaking the meringue or overbeating it in the first place.  I may have been guilty of both.

When it came to enjoying this lovely pie, I could have cared less about that weepy meringue.  It was a delicious pie.  Absolutely delicious.  I will happily make it (and eat most of it) again.

Recipe:  Lemon Meringue Pie

(pie recipe from Emeril Lagasse, Food Network; pie crust recipe from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan)

1 pie crust, recipe follows

Lemon Filling:

1 1/4 c. granulated sugar

5 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 c. whole milk

1/2 c. cold water

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

6 large egg yolks

2/3 c. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 1/2 Tbsp. limoncello

2 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Meringue:

4 large egg whites

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

6 Tbsp. powdered sugar

To Make Pie:

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and on a lightly floured surface, roll out to a 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan, pressing gently to fit, trim the edge to within 1/2-inch of the pan, turn under, and crimp decoratively.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line the pie shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights, dry beans, or rice. **Or listen to my mom and gently prick your crust here and there with a fork.** Bake until the crust is set, about 12 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and weights and bake until lightly colored, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before filling.

Combine the granulated sugar, cornstarch, milk, water, and pinch of the salt in a large, non-reactive saucepan, whisk to combine, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally. As the mixture reaches a simmer and begins to thicken and turn clear, 4 to 5 minutes, whisk in the egg yolks, 2 at a time. Slowly add the lemon juice, whisking constantly, and add the zest and limoncello. Add the butter, 1 piece at a time, and whisking constantly, return to a simmer. Remove from the heat and pour immediately into the prepared pie crust.

To Make Meringue:

Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and remaining pinch salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beating constantly, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until glossy stiff peaks form, being careful not to over beat, as this will make the meringue difficult to spread.

Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip. Working 1 row at a time, pipe the meringue across the top of the hot lemon filling in a zigzag pattern, alternating direction with each row. Cover the pie filling completely, going out to the pastry edges, so the meringue does not draw up or weep during baking. (Alternatively, spread the meringue evenly over the pie filling using a rubber spatula, smoothing out to the pastry edges. Make decorative peaks in the meringue using a dull knife or the back of a spoon.)

To quickly cook the meringue, preheat the broiler with the rack in the highest position. Place the pie under the broiler and cook until the meringue is set and golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning. (Alternatively, the meringue can be cooked in a preheated 325 degree F oven until set and golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes.)

Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Pie Crust ~yields enough dough for two double-crust pies:

(If you make the full recipe, it freezes beautifully, and you’ll have pie crust at your fingertips whenever you want to bake another pie.  Or, you could cut the recipe in half or quarter it.)

5 1/4 c. pastry flour or all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 3/4 c. solid vegetable shortening (11 ounces), chilled

1 c. ice cold water

(I made my dough in my kitchen aid mixer, but you can also do this by hand or in a food processor.)

Fix mixer with paddle attachment (or use a pastry blender).  Put flour and salt in bowl and mix.  Add butter and mix on low until it is cut into dry ingredients and the mixture looks coarse and crumbly.  Add shortening in small bits and continue to mix on low.  When the mixture holds together when a small bit is pressed between your fingers, add the water and mix only until it is incorporated.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface and fold it over on itself two or three times, just to finish the mixing and to gather it together.