Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients

• 1 recipe Pastry Dough for a single-crust 9- to 10-inch pie
• Raw rice or pie weights for weighting shell
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
• 4 large egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ cup sugar

Steps

1. On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough into a 13-inch round, (about ⅛-inch thick) and fit into a 9-inch (1-quart) pie plate. Trim edge of dough, leaving a ½-inch overhang, and crimp edge decoratively. Prick shell in several places with a fork and chill, covered, 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F.
3. Line shell with wax paper and fill with rice or pie weights. Bake shell in middle of oven 10 minutes. Remove paper and rice carefully and bake shell until golden, about 12 minutes more. Cool shell in pie plate on a wire rack.
4. Lower oven temperature to 350°F.
5. In a heavy medium saucepan whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt and gradually whisk in water and milk, whisking until cornstarch is dissolved. In a medium bowl whisk together egg yolks. Cook milk mixture over moderate heat, whisking, until it comes to a boil. Gradually whisk about 1 cup warm milk mixture into yolks and then whisk egg yolk mixture back into milk mixture. Bring to a simmer, whisking, then continue to whisk until thick, 3–5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, lemon juice, and zest until butter is melted. Cover surface of filling with plastic wrap.
6. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks. Beat in sugar in a slow stream, beating until meringue just holds stiff peaks.
7. Pour filling into shell and spread meringue on top, covering filling completely, sealing it to pastry. Draw meringue up into peaks and bake pie in middle of oven until meringue is golden, about 15 minutes. Let pie cool completely, about 2 hours. Pie can be chilled for up to 6 hours. Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in the May 1995 issue of ‘Gourmet’ and first appeared on Epicurious in August 2004. The instructions have been updated to reflect that the lemon filling should be cooked on the stove until thick and that the pie should be completely cool before slicing. This way for more of our best pie recipes →