LEMON MERINGUE PIE

45 minutes preparation, 1 hour ~ chilling, 12-15 minutes baking
Makes 10 servings
1 9-inch packaged pie crust, pre- baked if frozen
Filling
4 large egg yolks
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter, cut
into small pieces

Meringue
4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Preheat oven to 350 F. To prepare filling, in top of a double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Place over simmering water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not let mixture boil. Remove mixture from over water. Stir in butter. Pour into crust.
2 To prepare meringue, beat egg whites at medium speed until foamy. Beat in cornstarch and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar and vanilla at high speed until stiff, but not dry, peaks form.
3 Spoon meringue into a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe meringue decoratively over filling to edge of crust. Bake pie until meringue is golden, 12 to 15 minutes.


Make sure the meringue is piped right to the edge of the crust, to prevent the filling from seeping out.
When making meringue, it is important not to overbeat the mixture. Adding a pinch of cream of tartar makes the egg whites less prone to overbeating.