How to Make Lemon Meringue Pie

Making lemon meringue pie yourself is not as hard as you might think. With a few simple ingredients and a prepared pie crust (recipe found here) you will be able to whip this pie up in no time. Adding lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and extra meringue makes this lemon meringue pie recipe a winner any time of year.

Step-by-Step Instructions

The first thing you will need is a baked and cooled 9″ pie crust. You can use a store bought one or make your own.

In a medium sized sauce pan combine egg yolks (save the whites we’ll use those in a minute), sugar, one package of lemon pudding mix, and the zest from one lemon.

Into a liquid measuring cup squeeze the juice from the lemon you just got all of the zest from. I place a mesh strainer over the measuring cup to catch any seeds from the lemon. Once you have the lemon juice, add some water until you have 3 cups of juice/water. Add this to the sauce pan and mix together well until it is smooth.

Place the pan on the stove and over medium heat, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Then remove from the heat and pour the pudding into your prepared pie crust.

Next, in a very clean, large metal or glass mixing bowl add the egg whites you saved along with three more. The meringue is one of the best parts……am I right……so we want lots of it. I use my stand mixer for this part. Using a wire whisk, begin beating the egg whites. Once they become frothy, slowly add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar to the egg whites. Continue beating until it forms soft peaks that hold their shape but are not stiff.

Carefully spread the beaten egg whites on top of the lemon pudding mixture and place in a 350° F oven on the middle rack for approximately 15 minutes. Check often to make sure it’s not getting too brown.

Allow the pie to cool completely before cutting into it. The lemon filling with become thicker as it cools. We usually put ours in the fridge because it’s even more refreshing when it’s cold.

Tips

• When beating egg whites always use either a metal or glass bowl. Fat sticks to plastic and does not allow the egg yolks to foam.
• Also, when separating the yolks from the whites make sure that none of they yolk gets in with the egg whites.
• When adding the water/lemon juice to the pan, add only half or so of the liquid at first. Stir this together really well and then add the rest of the liquid.

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law soon after I got married. It follows along with the instructions on the pudding box with some added ingredients.

Do you enjoy lemon as much as we do? Let me know, along with other lemon desserts you enjoy in the comments below.