— Cowgirl Kitchen —

Cowboy’s Favorite Lemon Meringue Pie

September 27, 2017

Cowboy’s Favorite Lemon Meringue Pie-

The soil on our property is not the best for growing citrus or any other fruit tree.  In an area behind my house was some of the deepest top soil on the ranch.  In some other areas, you can barely scrape down and inch before you hit granite.  This is one of the reasons there’s a large granite quarry on the next ridge over from our home.

Raymond-Knowles Granite Quarry

My father was a farmer that specialized in citrus. There was a time when I would go with him late at night to light smudge pots.  These were oil pots that had to be hand lit to try to raise the temperature of the orchard two or three degrees.  It was a dirty, and time-consuming process.  Later of course, smudge pots were replaced with more efficient wind machines on the big ranches.

Irvine Ranch Citrus

One of the first things I planted in my garden was a lemon tree.  My dad would be so proud to know that I was successful when it came to that lemon tree.  It can get a little cold around here during the winter surprising many people that I do well with my lemon tree.

Tips for Growing Lemons

When blessed with an abundance of lemons, there is one thing you must do, and it’s not making lemonade.  I’m talking about lemon meringue pie.  I have found my family’s favorite recipe for this delicacy.  It’s their favorite because it’s the sweetest lemon meringue pie you’ll ever taste.  The meringue is absolutely like candy.

The Best Ever Lemon Meringue Pie

Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 12 servings

Calories 299 kcal

Author Barry C. Parsons

Ingredients

For the Pastry. Sufficient for two 10 inch pie shells.

  • 1 cup very cold butter cut into small cubes
  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup ice water or a little more. Only enough to make a dough form.

For the Filling

  • 1/3 cup corn starch
  • 1/3 cup cake flour
  • pinch salt
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 5 egg yolk slightly beaten
  • Zest of 2 lemons very finely chopped
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • 2 cups water
  • 3 tbsp butter

For the meringue

  • 5 egg whites
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • ¼ tsp cream of tarter
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

To make the pastry

  1. Using a food processor or a pastry blender cut cold butter into flour and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter should still be visible.
  2. Pour cold water over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form. Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible.
  3. Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can freeze the second round for another time.
  4. You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.
  5. Roll the dough into a 12 inch round and place in the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate.
  6. Trim and flute the edges as desired. Poke a few holes in the bottom of the pastry shell, rest in the refrigerator for an additional 20 minutes before baking at 400 degrees F for 12 – 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  7. Cool completely before adding the filling.

To make the filling

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine corn starch, cake flour, sugar and salt. Pour in water and stir constantly over medium low heat until mixture comes to a slow boil.
  2. Remove the pan from the heat and reduce the flame to low.
  3. Pour about a cup of this mixture onto the slightly beaten egg yolks while whisking constantly.
  4. Pour the egg mixture back into the rest of the other mixture in the pot, whisking constantly.
  5. Return to the stove and cook for an additional 3 minutes stirring constantly.
  6. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and lemon rind.
  7. Finally whisk in your butter one tbsp at a time.
  8. Pour the filling into the baked and cooled shell. Let stand for a few minutes while preparing the meringue.

To prepare the meringue

  1. Whip egg whites, vanilla, salt and cream of tarter to soft peaks.
  2. Very gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat the egg whites.
  3. Dollop in heaping tablespoonfuls onto pie. Gently spread over the filling, making sure that the meringue touches the crust all the way around the pie. This will help to prevent the meringue from shrinking.
  4. Bake in a 325 degree F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the meringue is well browned. Cool pie thoroughly in the refrigerator before serving.
  5. Keep refrigerated.
  6. Dip a sharp knife in cold water to help with cutting the pie into slices and clean the knife with paper towel between cuts.

This is the sweetest lemon meringue pie ever.  I always get a ton of compliments.  The only issue I’ve ever had with this recipe is that it doesn’t really fill my deep-dish pie plate crust. But I can live with that.