My favorite pie in the whole world is Lemon Meringue. My mother used to make these pies for our family reunions, at Christmas, and maybe at Easter, too. If she ever asked me what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday, I am sure I asked for a Lemon Meringue pie instead.
I have not had a Lemon Meringue pie since I started eating gluten free in April of 2007. But, the week before Thanksgiving, I found some gluten free frozen pie crusts at Whole Foods in Scottsdale. When I saw them, my head just about exploded with joy, and I knew I would be making a lemon pie soon.
This morning, I made my pie, using my mother’s recipe. I think it is actually from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook from the 1940’s or 50’s. Mama had that cookbook forever, so used that it came apart from the binding. She kept it in a drawer in the kitchen, wrapped in rubber bands to keep it together. Several years ago, she wrote down a bunch of her most used recipes, and I made copies for all my siblings and one for myself.
Here is the recipe:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3 eggs, separated
juice and grated rind of 2 lemons
1 baked pie shell
Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a boiler. Add water, stirring constantly. Beat egg yolks, add a little of the hot cornstarch mixture to the eggs. Beat well, and return the egg mixture to the boiler, stirring well. Cook for 2 minutes longer or until very thick. Add lemon juice and rind, beat well to combine. Pour into baked pie shell. Cover with meringue. Bake at 325 degrees until meringue is browned.
Meringue:
3 egg whites
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Beat egg whites until frothy. Add sugar slowly, continue beating until stiff. Add vanilla.
Refrigerate at least one hour, if you can wait that long, before cutting the pie. Enjoy, repeat until the pie is gone. MMMMMMMMM…..
It looks yummy. You’re more ambitious than I.
OMG….I haven’t had one of Mama’s Lemon Meringue pies in forever…Perhaps I’ll make one for us during the holidays. 😉 Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
hey!! lemon meringue was my favorite growing up too!! we had chickens so we used our own eggs resulting in the pie being almost orange from the yolks. mom used to let me make the peaks and perforate the crust before baking it.
you’ve inspired me to make one. mmmmm…
mmmmmmm! can feel that cold, sweet/tart mouthful sliding around on my tongue and slipping down my throat. I love it! you bake a good pie.
Oh…yum! You can be sure that I am going to try this recipe. I have made lemon pie but have always used a mix.
it actually sounds like something I could do, maybe I will give it a try, I’ll let you know.
by the way, I bought my lemons last night…it’s Mama’s lemon pie for me tomorrow 😉
Lemon Meringue is my favorite, too! Have you tried the Carol Fenster pie crust recipe? It is super easy and super good!