Paso Robles Real Estate

Sherry’s Favorite Lemon Meringue Pie

Okay, this recipe is a little more labor intensive, but it always gets rave reviews!

9-inch baked pie shell

I cheat on this and buy the Pillsbury rolled pie pastry in the box.  After many years of making my own pie pastry, I finally decided Pillsbury was as good or better than my own recipe and certainly a time-saver.

Filling:

• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg yolks slightly beaten
• 1/4 fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
• 2 tablespoons butter

Meringue:

• 8 egg whites at room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup sugar

1. Line pie plate with pie pastry & bake shell.  Let cool…
2. Make filling:  In small saucepan, combine cornstarch, sugar & salt.  Gradually add 1 & 1/2 cups of water and stir until smooth.
3. Over medium heat, bring to boiling stirring constantly, until smooth and boil for 1 minute.
4. Remove mixture from heat.  Quickly stir half of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, mix well and then return egg yolk mixture back into sauce pan.
5. Over medium heat, return to boiling while stirring constantly, and boil 1 minute.
6. Remove mixture from heat and stir in lemon juice, lemon peel and butter.  Immediately pour into the pie shell.
7. Preheat oven to 400F.
8. Make Meringue:  In medium bowl, mix egg whites and cream of tartar at medium speed until soft peaks form when the beater is raised.  (A KitchenAid Mixer comes in handy here, but you can use a hand-held mixer)
9. Gradually beat in 2 tablespoons of sugar at a time and beat well after each addition.  Continue to beat until still peaks form when the beater is raised.
10. Spread meringue over hot filling sealing to the edge of the crust and make peaks in the meringue with back of a butter knife or spoon.  Touch meringue with utensil and lift forming many peaks.
11. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until meringue is golden.
12. Cool on a wire rack away from drafts for 1 hour before serving.

Two more bits of advice:

Keep an extra dozen eggs on hand just in case your meringue doesn’t whip up.  This has happened to me more than once.  Don’t know whether it is because the eggs aren’t fresh or I just whipped them too long.

Secondly, lemon meringue pie doesn’t last well in the refrigerator (ingredients tend to separate)  so you may as well eat the whole pie:)

If you would like to search the MLS for listings in  San Luis Obispo County,visit my website.  If you have any real estate questions or general questions about Paso Robles or San Luis Obispo County, please contact me via email or call me at (805) 235-0234 for more information.

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