Lemon Meringue Pie

Baked 9 in pie shell

1 c. sugar

6 Tbsp. cornstarch

¼ tsp. salt

2 c. milk

3 eggs, separated

3 Tbsp. butter

1/3 c. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. grated lemon rind

¼ tsp. cream of tartar

3 Tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in the top of a double boiler. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly. Cook and stir these ingredients over hot water until the mixture thickens—about 15 minutes. Cover the pan and allow to cook 10 minutes longer. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat. Beat the egg yolks in a separate bowl and add about ½ cup of the thickened milk. Then stir this mixture back into the double boiler. Cook and stir over boiling water for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter, lemon juice and lemon rind. Cool this custard, stirring gently every 10 minutes or so. When cool, pour into pie shell.

For the meringue, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until they are stiff but not dry. Beat in sugar, ½ tsp. at a time, followed by vanilla. Heap onto pie and spread with spatula so that meringue goes all the way out to the crust, around the whole pie.

Use a back and forth motion of the spatula to make decorative waves in the meringue. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until the meringue is delicately browned on top.

Serves 6.

This recipe is attributed to Alice O’Connell and was published in the cookbook Country Cooking.

This is my favorite lemon meringue recipe because it's a creamy lemon filling that's not too sweet or too tart. It's the complete opposite of that typical gelatinous fake yellow colored filling that most lemon meringue pie consists of. The custard is also good in other recipes, like Lemon Delight. You can also skip the meringue all together and just top with whipped cream or cool whip. It's also good in a graham cracker crust for another variation.