The Ultimate Lemon Meringue Pie

Name: The Ultimate Lemon Meringue Pie
Yield: Makes one 9-inch pie
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups, unbleached all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon, table salt; 1 tablespoon, granulated sugar; 6 tablespoons, unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces; 4 tablespoons, vegetable shortening, chilled; 3–4 tablespoons, cold water; 1/2 cup, graham cracker crumbs; 1 cup, granulated sugar; 1/4 cup, cornstarch; 1/8 teaspoon, table salt; 1 1/2 cups, cold water; 6 , large egg yolks; 1 tablespoon, lemon zest from 1 lemon; 1/2 cup, lemon juice from 2 to 3 lemons; 2 tablespoons, unsalted butter; 1 tablespoon, cornstarch; 1/4 teaspoon, cream of tartar; 1/2 cup, granulated sugar; 4 , large egg whites; 1/2 teaspoon, vanilla extract

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Appears in Cook's Illustrated November/December 1994, America's Test Kitchen TV

Desserts or Baked Goods

Fruit

Dessert Pies

Fruit Desserts

This is the ultimate lemon meringue pie: a crisp crust, a firm, lush filling, and a no-weep meringue.

SERVESMakes one 9-inch pie

TIME2 hours, plus 1½ hours chilling and 2 hours cooling

has video

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

We wanted to develop a lemon meringue pie recipe that gave us a meringue that didn’t break down and puddle on the bottom or “tear” on top. We realized that the puddling underneath the meringue was from undercooking. The beading on top of th...

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