How to Make Lemon Meringue Pie

Many people learn how to make lemon meringue pie and are surprised at how easy it is to make this delicious treat. With just a basic pie crust and a few simple ingredients, you can easily make an impressive pie to serve as dessert. Plus there are some kitchen shortcuts that can help even the most inexperienced cook whip up a lemon meringue pie in no time at all.

Lemon cakes and pies came into vogue during the Middle Ages, but it wasn't until the 17th century that European cooks learned to separate egg yokes and whites and create baked meringues. Some cookbooks and home making texts from the 17th and 18th century mention dishes similar to lemon meringue pie but it wasn't until the 1800's that lemon meringue pie became a common dessert in homes and restaurants.

There are many lemon meringue pie recipes that can help you make a pie from scratch from crust to meringue. There are also several kitchen shortcuts you can take using packaged supermarket ingredients. The choice of whether or not to bake from scratch or use a combination of home made ingredients and store bought items is a matter of personal taste. Some cooks make a great pie crust but don’t want to bother with fresh lemons, while others are quite comfortable making homemade lemon curd but don't make their own crusts. Read through both recipes first, then decide which one you want to try.

Give yourself an hour or two to make the pie and clean up. Assemble all the tools and ingredients you need first to make sure everything is on hand before you start cooking.

There are many fine pie crust recipes available. You will need to make a basic pie crust using one of these recipes. Bake the crust until just about golden. After cooking it, set it aside until you're ready to use it.

The best lemon meringue pie is a mix of tart and sweet. Creating a creamy, lemony filling is key.

You'll need:

• 3 egg yokes
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/3 of a cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

You may also want to add yellow food coloring if the filling isn't yellow enough for your taste. Just add one drop to the mixture, see how it looks, and add one more if you want an even deeper yellow color.

To make the filling, beat the egg yolks in a bowl using a fork. Set them aside. In a small saucepan, mix the sugar and cornstarch together, and gradually add the water, stirring the whole time while heating it over medium heat. Continue cooking and stirring until it reaches a boil. Boil and stir for about one minute until the mixture thickens.

Take the hot mixture and stir it about half of it quickly into the egg yolks, then take the liquid and egg yolk mixture and pour it back into the saucepan with the rest of the mix. Continue heating it. Boil, stirring constantly, for at least two minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the butter, lemon juice, lemon peel and food coloring. When the mixture is well stirred and all the ingredients are mixed well, pour the filling into the pie crust.

Now it's time to make the meringue. Using a very clean metal bowl, beat three egg whites and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar. Beat it on high speed until the mixture foams, then gradually and slowly add in 6 tablespoons of sugar. Add the sugar as you keep beating the mix and add only a tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until the mix forms stiff peaks, and then add the vanilla. Remove from the mixer and spoon or pipe over the pie filling. Make sure you seal the edges of the meringue over pie filling. Just use your spoon and press the meringue over the filling.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Bake about 8 to 12 minutes, then cool and chill for an hour or two. Serve and enjoy!

There are several shortcuts you can take when learning how to make lemon meringue pie. You can buy pie crust in the freezer section of the grocery store or pie crust mixes in a box in the baking aisle. While perhaps not as good as homemade, they can shorten the time it takes to make lemon meringue pie.

A shortcut to make the lemon filling is to use lemon pudding instead of boiling the water, sugar and cornstarch mixture. Most lemon pudding brands have preparation instructions on the back of the box to convert pudding to pie filling. Make sure you follow the instructions for making pie filling; the consistency is different than pudding, and sometimes they are cooked differently.

There are few shortcuts to a good meringue. But just by using pre-made pie crust and pudding for the filling, you can shorten some of the preparation time and enjoy a good lemon meringue pie.

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