For the Fourth of July me and my hubby decided to have a cookout, just the two of us. He decided he’d do the grilling and make hamburgers, and I’d be in charge of dessert. I usually make cake, or a jello type pie, but this time I wanted to do something different.
My hubby had often told me how he yearned for a traditional home-made lemon meringue pie, so for this year’s cookout, that’s just was I decided to make. I had recently gotten a free issue of All Recipes cooking magazine in the mail and it just happened to be an all lemon issue that included “Grandma’s Lemon Meringue Pie” recipe. As usual I would follow the recipe but substitute all sugar with Splenda, to make a sugar-free version of the dish.
I cooked the lemon filing on the stove until it became a custard like consistency.
The next step was to pour the filling in the baked pie crust. The filling was so lemony you could smell its delicious goodness from afar.
I’ve become rather good at whipping egg whites, though this would be the first time I’d use them as a meringue. I would top the meringue on the pie and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the meringue had a golden top. Unfortunately mine didn’t turn golden, so I left the pie in there a bit longer. This extend length did get me a slightly golden look to the meringue, it also made it kind of rubbery and not fluffy. My husband concluded that perhaps the Splenda was to blame. Regular sugar golden when cooked, but the Splenda most likely didn’t react the same, so keeping it in longer just cooked the egg whites. Next time I make this I’ll be sure to only leave it in there the 10 minutes and no more.
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 lemons, juiced and zested
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 egg yolks, beaten
- 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
- 4 egg whites
- 6 tablespoons white suga
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
- To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.
The pie was so delicious, despite my issues with the over cooked meringue. I thought it came out beautifully and the lemon flavor superb. We loved it so much that it was gone within a day.
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