Lemon Meringue Pie

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With a graham cracker crust and sweetened condensed milk filling, this lemon meringue pie is foolproof and easy.

This lemon meringue pie recipe comes from Myra Santoro, the mom of one of my oldest and dearest friends. Originally from Snow Hill, North Carolina, Myra is a fabulous Southern cook with a huge heart. As a kid, I practically lived at her house and, with so many good smells coming from the kitchen, I was always trying to finagle a way to stay for dinner.

Unlike most lemon meringue pie recipes, which can be rife with issues — a soggy crust, a soupy filling, or a meringue that weeps — Myra’s recipe is foolproof. It’s delicious too: I once made it and left it on the counter with a note for my husband and kids to try it. I came home to find the pie butchered with forks and almost entirely gone; they had not even bothered to slice it!

What You’ll Need To Make Myra’s Lemon Meringue Pie

How To Make Lemon Meringue Pie

Step 1: Make the Crust

Start with the crust. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the melted butter.

Stir with a fork first, and then your hands until the mixture is well combined.

Using your fingers and the bottom of a clean drinking glass or measuring cup, press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a deep dish pie pan. The crust should be about 1/4-in thick. Bake for about 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Let the crust sit on a wire rack while you prepared the rest of the pie, and lower the oven temperature to 325°F.

Step 2: Make the Filling

Combine the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a medium bowl.

Whisk to combine and set aside.

Step 3: Make the Meringue

Bring about 1/2 inch of water to a simmer in a pot that’s large enough to hold the bowl of a stand mixer without letting it touch the water. Reduce the heat to low.

Put the egg whites and sugar in the bowl off the heat and whisk until frothy. Put the bowl over the pot and whisk gently but constantly until the whites are very warm to the touch, or about 115°F and the sugar is completely dissolved, 2 to 4 minutes. (Heating the egg whites and sugar before beating them helps stabilize the meringue so it doesn’t weep once cooked.)

Remove the bowl from the heat and transfer it to the stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment. Add the cream of tartar.

Beat over medium-high speed until the egg whites form thick, glossy medium-firm peaks, 3 to 5 minutes total.

When you lift the whisk out of the bowl, the whites should hold their shape but curl at their tips.

Step 4: Assemble the Pie

Pour the lemon filling into the baked crust.

Mound the meringue onto the wet lemon filling.

Using a soup spoon, gently spread the meringue over the entire surface of the filling, making sure to go all the way to the crust’s edge (it is essential that the edge of the meringue be anchored to the rim of the crust; otherwise it will shrink). Make decorative peaks and swirls in the meringue with the back of the spoon.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the meringue is lightly browned.

Let the pie cool completely on a rack before serving, about 3 hours.

Photo by Our Salty Kitchen

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