When life gives you lemons make lemon meringue pie. Made with pure and simple ingredients . . . it is deliciously soothing!

“Besides chocolate, the longest entry in many cookbook indexes is for lemons.” – Laurie Colwin

Tips for the lemon filling and crust:

Thin skinned lemons are the juiciest.
Blind bake the crust and cool before baking.
Avoid extra cleanup time. Add a baking sheet to the oven to catch the drips.
A homemade pie crust is best. However, if you are in a pinch a store-bought crust will be just fine!
Temper the egg yolks – this is an easy step. Whisk in a bit of the hot lemon juice/sugar mixture to the eggs, then return them to the pan. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until thickened. Do not boil add this point!
For extra lemon flavor, add lemon zest to the filling!

Tips for the meringue:

When separating the eggs, be sure that not one speck of the egg yolks gets into the egg whites.
Use a dry, clean, without a trace of fat bowl to beat the egg whites.
Make the meringue with room temperature egg whites(the volume is greater with room temperature egg whites).
To avoid weeping, spread the meringue over a piping hot lemon filling. The eggs will begin to cook immediately.
Spread the meringue all the way to the edges of the pie so that it doesn’t shrink.

When life gives you lemons . . . make lemon meringue pie. Here’s a recipe for happiness!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Pies or cakes? Lemon or chocolate? If it's pies and lemons, then this is for you!

Preheat oven to 400ºF.
In a heavy saucepan stir to combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
Whisk in the water and lemon juice.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches a boil.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot lemon/sugar mixture to the eggs. Whisk together. Then return to the hot mixture in the pan. Continue cooking until the mixture is thick(do not boil).
Remove from heat. Add the butter and lemon zest; whisk together. Cool to lukewarm.
Pour into the blind baked pie crust. Immediately spread the meringue over filling. Be sure to spread to the pie crust edges.
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until golden brown.
At this point, stand by the oven door and check the pie frequently! Barely open the oven door and check your pie. The meringue will look perfect one minute and can burn two minutes later.
Cool in a draft free place for 2 - 3 hours before serving.
Enjoy!

When Life Gives You Lemons