Ah, lemon meringue pie—zesty, sweet, and that fluffy golden meringue on top! Here’s a clear, step-by-step recipe you can follow.
Ingredients (8 servings)
For the crust (you can also use a store-bought pie crust):
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- 3–4 tablespoons ice water
For the lemon filling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 lemons, juiced and zested
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
For the meringue:
- 4 large egg whites
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
1. Make the crust:
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
- Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, just until dough comes together.
- Roll out dough and fit into a 9-inch pie pan.
- Prick the bottom with a fork, line with parchment paper, fill with pie weights or dried beans.
- Bake 15 minutes, remove weights and parchment, bake 5–7 minutes more until lightly golden. Cool slightly.
2. Make the lemon filling:
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt.
- Stir in water, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat. Stir in butter.
- Slowly whisk a small amount of hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks (tempering), then return it all to the saucepan. Cook 2 more minutes, stirring constantly.
- Pour filling into the baked pie crust.
3. Make the meringue:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.
- Spread meringue over the hot lemon filling, sealing edges to the crust to prevent shrinking.
4. Bake:
- Bake for 10–12 minutes, until meringue is golden brown.
- Cool at room temperature for 1–2 hours before serving (helps the filling set).
💡 Tips:
- Make sure the filling is hot when you spread the meringue—this helps the meringue stick.
- Avoid overbeating the meringue; stiff peaks are perfect.
- For extra lemon punch, add ½ teaspoon of lemon extract to the filling.
If you want, I can also give a shortcut version that uses a pre-baked crust and takes about 30 minutes total—still super tasty!
Do you want me to do that?
