Slice of Heaven

My dad has always said that you can’t get in to heaven unless you know how to make a really good pie. Well the past few weeks I have been craving lemon meringue pie, which happens to be my dad’s favorite. I think it has something to do with the summertime heat—doesn’t a cool lemon meringue pie sound delish? So I got to thinking, I can already make a mean apple pie, but to increase my chances for heaven I decided that I had better learn to make a tasty lemon meringue pie.

I’ve heard meringues can be tricky, so I did my homework, searched for recipes, and even watched a how-to video online. I am happy to report that, to my great surprise, the pie was a success! It was fun to make and a treat to eat! I thought I’d go ahead and share the recipe here in case anyone wants to increase their chances for heaven…or if they just want a heavenly summer dessert. Enjoy!

Lemon Meringue Pie (adapted from Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie)

Ingredients

Meringue

• 6 egg whites
• 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon white sugar
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• Dash of vanilla

Lemon Filling

• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup and 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 ¼ cups milk
• 4 lemons, juiced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 6 egg yolks, beaten

1-1/2 (9 inch) pie crust, baked

Directions

1. To make meringue: In a large glass bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar, cream of tartar, and vanilla gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. To make lemon filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 ½ cups sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in milk, lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
4. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.
6. Let pie cool to room temperature for one hour.
7. Refrigerate pie for four hours and it’s ready to serve.