LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Pastry for one-crust pie

LEMON FILLING
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1-3/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon butter

MERINGUE
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar


1 On lightly floured pastry cloth, roll the pastry to an 11-inch circle, rolling with light strokes from center to edge. Fold pastry in half; with fold in center, carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Unfold; fit into a pie plate, pressing gently toward the center.

2 Fold edge of crust under; press into an upright rim. Crimp edge decoratively, using thumb and forefinger. Refrigerate % hour. Preheat oven to 450F. Prick entire surface evenly with fork. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden-brown. Coolon rack.

3 Make lemon filling: In medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, flour, 1 % cups sugar and the salt, mixing well. Gradually add 2 cups water, stirring until smooth. Over medium heat, bring to boiling, stirring occasionally; boil1 minute, till shiny and translucent.

4 Quickly stir some of hot mixture into yolks. Pour back into hot mixture; stir to blend. Return to heat; cook over low heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice, lemon peel and butter. Pour into pie shell. Preheat oven to 400F.

5 Make meringue: In medium bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat whites with cream of tartar until frothy. Gradually beat in sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition. Beatat high speed until stiff peaks form when beater is slowly raised.

6 Spread meringue over lemon filling, carefully sealing to edge of the crust and swirling the top decoratively. Bake 7 to 9 minutes, or until the meringue is golden-brown. Let cool completely on rack-2% to 3 hours. Serves 8. Cut with a wet knife.

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.