Marcia Laun Recipe Collection
Lemon Meringue Pie

1 1/4 Cup Sugar
1 1/4 Cup Water
1 Tbs. Butter
5 Tbs. Cornstarch
3 Tbs. Water
3 Egg Yolks
2 Tbs. Milk
1/4 tsp. Salt
3 Lemons (enough to make 1/2 cup juice...include a touch of grated peel & pulp)

Mix sugar, water, butter; bring to a boil. Lower heat. With a wire wisk, stir in mixture of cornstarch and water. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Beat in egg yolk, milk, salt; stirring constantly. When thickened enough, remove from heat. Add juice, peel and pulp to filling. Cool about 20 minutes. Pour into baked pie shell.

Meringue: 3 egg whites
1 tsp. lemon juice
6 Tbs. sugar
Using a deep mixing bowl and mixer at high speed, beat egg whites and lemon juice until nearly stiff. Use rubber spatula to scrape sides of bowl while mixing. Slowly add sugar while continuing to beat. When peaks can be formed, drop by spoonfuls on pie, covering all the filling to crust edge. Bake 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Meringue should be lightly brown.

Have the cornstarch/water already mixed together in a dish before beginning to boil the sugar/water/butter. (The cornstarch/water tends to get stiff, so stir to create smooth liquid mixture as you add.) As well, mix together the yolks/milk/salt in another dish. Have the juice/peel/pulp squeezed and ready to add. Ingredients need to go together quickly. When the cornstarch/water is added, the custard thickens quickly.

To make a larger meringue, use 4 whites instead of three and add 8 Tbs. sugar instead of 6. (Do not increase the yolk amount.)