Lillis’ Lemon Meringue Pie

This recipe and Lemon Pudding/Mousse are identical except for the very last step. When you’re making Lemon Meringue Pie, this recipe makes enough filling for a 9 inch pie shell.

Juice of two large lemons

1 1/2/ cups water

1 T. butter (if using unsalted butter, add a dash of salt)

1/2 cup sugar mixed with

3 T. cornstarch—mix thoroughly to blend sugar and cornstarch

4 eggs, separated

8 T. sugar

1 9-inch pie shell, baked

Juice the lemons, pour juice into a medium size saucepan. Pour the 1 1/2/ cups water into the lemon juicer to get all the rest of the juice. Add to lemon juice in saucepan. Add butter, egg yolks and sugar-cornstarch mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly till it comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Take off heat, cool slightly while you beat the egg whites with a mixer at high speed till foamy, then gradually add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time. Keep beating until a thick meringue forms. Pour the lemon filling into the pie shell, top with the meringue. Make sure the spread it to the very edges of the pie crust to seal the top (otherwise it shrinks away from the edges while baking). You can make it look fancy by swirling the back of a spoon or a knife blade through the meringue to make peaks. Bake at 425 for 5-8 minutes until meringue is delicately brown.