The Ultimate Lemon Meringue Pie
"A great lemon pie so refreshing from Cook's Illustrated!"
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 20
- Yields:
-
6-8 pieces of pie
- Serves:
- 6-8
ingredients
-
Graham Cracker-Coated Pie Shell
- 1 1⁄4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2 teaspoon table salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
- 4 tablespoons cold water
- 1⁄2 cup graham cracker crumbs
-
Lemon Filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1⁄4 cup cornstarch
- 1⁄8 teaspoon salt (table)
- 1 1⁄2 cups water (cold)
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon lemon (zest from 1 lemon)
- 1⁄2 cup lemon (juice from 2 to 3 lemons)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
-
Meringue Topping
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1⁄4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large egg whites
- 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
directions
- For the pie shell: Mix flour, salt and sugar in food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with a little of the flour. Cut butter into flour with five 1 second pulses. Add shortening; continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than a small pea, about four more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl sprinkle 3 tablespoons cold water over mixture. Using rubber spatula, fold water into mixture; press down on dough mixture with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together. If dough will not come together, add up to 1 tablespoon more cold water. Shape dough into ball, then flatten into 4-inch-wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling. Generously sprinkle work area with 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs. Place dough on work area scatter a few more crumbs over dough. Roll dough from center to edges, turning it into a 9-inch disk, rotating a quarter turn after each stroke and sprinkling additional crumbs underneath and on top as necessary to coat heavily. Flip dough over and continue to roll, but not rotate, to form a 13-inch disk slightly less than 1/8-inch thick. Fold dough into quarters; place dough point in center of 9-inch Pyrex pie pan. Unfold to cover pan completely, letting excess dough drape over pan lip. To fit dough to pan, lift edge of dough with one hand and press dough in pan bottom with other hand; repeat process around circumferences of pan to ensure dough fits properly and is not stretched. Trim all around, 1/2-inch past lip of pan. Tuck 1/2 inch of overhanging dough under so folded edge is flush with lip of pan; press to seal. Press thumb and index finger about 1/2-inch apart against outside edge of dough, then use index finger or knuckle of other hand to poke a dent on inside edge of dough through opening created by the other fingers. Repeat to flute around perimeter of pie shell. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Use fork to prick shell at 1/2-inch intervals; press a doubled 12-inch square of aluminum foil into pie shell; prick again and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- Adjust oven rack to lowest position, heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake, checking occasionally for ballooning, until crust is firmly set, about 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, remove foil, and continue to bake until crust is crisp and rich brown in color, about 10 minutes longer.
- For the filling: Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water in a large, nonreactive saucepan. Bring mixture to simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally at beginning of the process and more frequently as mixture begins to thicken. When mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent, whisk in egg yolks, two at a time. Whisk in zest, then lemon juice, and finally butter. Bring mixture to a brisk simmer, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, place plastic wrap directly on surface of filling to keep hot and prevent skin from forming.
- For the meringue: Mix cornstarch with 1/3 cup water in small saucepan; bring to simmer, whisking occasionally at beginning and more frequently as mixture thickens. When mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent, remove from heat. Let cool while beating egg whites.
- Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix cream of tartar and sugar together. Beat egg whites and vanilla until frothy. Beat in sugar mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; until sugar is incorporated and mixture forms soft peaks. Add cornstarch mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue to beat meringue to stiff peaks. Remove plastic from filling and return to very low heat during last minute or so of beating meringue (to ensure filling is hot) pour filling into pie shell. Using a rubber spatula, immediately distribute meringue evenly around edge then center of pie to keep it from sinking into filling. Make sure meringue attaches to pie crust to prevent shrinking. Use spoon to create peaks all over meringue. Bake pie until meringue is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature serve.
- Note:Sprinkle an 18-inch work area with 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs; place the dough disk in the center. Scatter a few more crumbs over the disk top. Roll the dough from the center to the edges to form a 9-inch disk, rotating it a quarter turn after each stroke and sprinkling additional crumbs underneath and on top to heavily coat the dough. Distribute the meringue evenly around the edge then the center of the pie. Use a rubber spatula to spread the meringue, making sure the meringue attaches to the pie.
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Reviews
-
This is the BEST lemon meringue pie I have EVER EATEN. -
DH's barber gave him a huge bag of lemons from his yard so I had to make a pie. I chose this one and couldn't have been happier with the outcome. I didn't use the crust recipe - just a regular Pillsbury "unfold" type crust. I did increase the lemon juice by at least two tablespoons which increased the "pucker factor", but it was awesome. We each had a small piece this afternoon and another one after dinner. I would love to eat another piece right now, but will try and hold off until tomorrow - LOL! -
Outraegeouly delicious. I have used this recipe for many years, and my family thinks there is none better. One suggestion though: make the crust the day before, prick and cover with foil as instructed, leave in the fridge overnight. It makes a huge difference, and the whole process is less of a production on the second day. Well worth the wait!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
oilpatchjo
Canada
<p><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/IWasAdoptedfall08.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/ZaarNicksMom/PACsticker-Adopted.jpg alt= /> <br />recipe#129579 by txzuckerbaeckerin started it all! I was so touched by the responses to my inquiries on Recipezaar. If it wasn't for the fact I lost my favourite cheesecake recipe and was determined to find one similar or the same I would not have found Reipezaar so I just have to tell my story. I had lost this recipe in moving and I bought several baking books and searched the web for months in my desperate search. Extremely late one night I found Recipezaar and posted my lost recipe as best as I could remember. The next day in the forum there it was posted the one and only lost cheesecake recipe. I knew it was the one from some of the ingredients. Several chefs gave me other recipes including New York Cheesecake by Tyler Florence which is wonderful as well which includes the Cherry Confit topping in the recipe which we adore. On September 19, 2006 this story had a happy ending with me finding my old cheesecake recipe. I thought I will never lose it again by posting it on Recipezaar.recipe #186938.That is why I'm hooked on this wonderful web site called Food! </p>
