Guess What I Made for Pi Day!

Lemon Meringue Pie!

It's been a while since I've updated, and honestly, it's been a while since I've made anything worthy of an update either. Anyways! In honor of Pi Day (yes, today is March 14, or 3.14) I decided that a good, homemade Lemon Meringue Pie would be appropriate.

It was totally apparent  looking at my shopping cart

that I was about  to go on a sweet, lemony adventure

The original recipe is from Allrecipes.com: 

Ingredients:

     1 baked pie crust

     1 1/2 c white sugar

     1/2 t salt

     1 1/2 c water

     1/2 c cornstarch

     1/3 c water

     4 eggs, separated

     1/2 c lemon juice

     2 t lemon zest

     3 T butter

     1/4 t salt

     

Directions

1. Bake pie crust as directed. 

I used the same recipe I always use for  pie crust, but this time

 I tried dry garbanzos as pie weights - big difference! The sides 

of the crust didn't sag like they have in the past.

2. Combine 1 1/2 c sugar, salt, and 1 1/2 c water in a heavy saucepan. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. 

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/3 c water. Gradually whisk into boiling sugar mixture. Boil mixture until thick and clear, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

3. Juice lemons. 

It took me about 10 small lemons (just under 2 lbs.)

to get the requisite half cup of lemon juice. Fresh

squeezed juice makes a big difference!  Make sure 

to strain your juice for seeds/excessive pulp if you 

squeezed by hand (like me!).

Whisk together egg yolks and lemon juice. Gradually whisk egg yolk mixture into hot sugar mixture. Return pan to heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in grated lemon rind and butter or margarine. 

Let mixture cool until lukewarm.

4. In a large glass or metal bowl, combine egg whites and salt. Whip until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 c sugar while continuing to whip. Beat until whites for stiff peaks. 

I really  want a copper mixing bowl now. 

Spoon filling into the baked pie crust. Cover pie with meringue. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until meringue is slightly brown. Cool 1 hour before cutting. 

It took SO MUCH WILLPOWER to wait a whole

hour to cut this! Doesn't it look delicious?

In the end, the lemon filling was a bit runny, so next time I may bake slightly longer, add a tad more cornstarch, or cool more fully before cutting :)