J.R. Johnson

Mr Man requested lemon meringue pie the other day. Do I have a recipe for it? I do, that’s not the problem. The problem is that I have too many recipes, taking many paths to the same destination.

And so I set out to make the pie, but also to reduce the stack of notes, hand-written adaptations, and other modifications into the One.

Here’s a snapshot of just some of the recipe pile:*

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So here we have it, the One Pie To Rule Them All (if you lIke lemon, that is).

The recipe looks a bit complicated but it’s really just a quick crumb crust, a batch of lemon curd, and whipped egg whites.

This works for me, and uses ingredients I can easily access. (I also do things like ignore milliliters and weigh everything in grams.) If you aren’t as into tangy citrus or can’t find Biscoff, modify at will!

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Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients

Crust

• 250g Biscoff or graham cracker crumbs 
• 57g butter, melted

* If using graham crackers, you can boost the flavor by adding a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and a pinch of salt.

Filling

• zest of one lemon, chopped v. fine (optional)
• juice of ~6 lemons, 200g
• 50g water
• 25g cornstarch
• 175g superfine or caster sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 25g butter

Meringue

• 4 egg whites
• 112g superfine or caster sugar
• 1/4 t. cream of tartar

Directions

Crust

1. preheat oven to 350F
2. crush Biscoff into fine crumbs with food processor or rolling pin
3. mix in melted butter
4. press into 9” pie plate (the bottom of a cup measure works well)
5. bake for ~18 minutes, remove and lower oven to 325F

Filling

1. mix lemon zest, juice, water and cornstarch until smooth
2. stir sugar and egg yolks together in a non-reactive pan, place over medium-low heat and add cornstarch mixture and butter
3. stir frequently until it just simmers and thickens like custard, about 5 minutes for me (taste and add another teaspoon+ of sugar if you fear the tang)
4. pour into crust and top with meringue

Meringue

1. combine sugar and cream of tartar in a small bowl
2. in a larger bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks
3. add sugar mixture one tablespoon or so at a time, whipping between, until stiff and shiny
4. spoon or pipe over filling, touching meringue to crust edges to prevent shrinkage
5. bake 15 minutes until golden

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Bonus: Lemon Syrup

Because I had organic lemons, I was also able to use the peels for this lemon syrup:

Stop Throwing Lemon Rinds Away! Make This No-Cook Syrup Instead

I let it steep for about four hours. I don’t have a great citrus press so I strained the peels, then put them in a plastic bag and used a rolling pin to extract the rest of the juice. The result is sweet with a touch of bitterness to ground the flavor, and perfect with seltzer and fresh mint on a hot afternoon.

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* I have attributions for some of these recipes but not all. That can happen when I’m away from home and trying to put together a recipe for the in-laws on the fly, with a kitchen and equipment not my own. Thanks for ideas for what to do (and not do) go out to Stella Parks, Mark Bittman, Alton Brown, and many bakers and commenters online.