Nancy Lee’s Lemon Meringue Pie

Nancy Lee is my grandmother.  No one calls her Nancy Lee except the family – double names are an old Southern tradition.  She was never what you would call a great cook, in fact, she stopped cooking anything for holidays except green bean casserole and chocolate chip cupcakes for as long as I can remember.

Sadly, my grandmother is in very poor health and doesn’t cook anything these days.  So I’m happy to have a few of her cookbooks and favorite recipes around.  This recipe is nothing special – it actually came from a can of condensed milk – but it is super tasty, easy, and I’ve updated it a little to make it a little less processed.

Lemon Meringue Pie
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9 inch baked pie crust (you can bake it yourself or be like me and use a refrigerated dough)
3 eggs, separated
14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
Zest of 1 lemon
A few drops of yellow food coloring, optional
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.  Beat egg yolks, then add in condensed milk.  Beat until well combined.  Beat in lemon juice, zest, and food coloring, if using.  Pour into baked pie crust.  Put in the oven to bake while you make the meringue.

In a clean, cold mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tarter on high speed.  When soft peaks form, gradually beat in the sugar.  Continue beating until the meringue has stiff peaks.  Take pie out of the oven and spread the meringue all the way to the edges.  Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Tent the pie with foil to prevent excess browning, and bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until the pie is only slightly jiggly.

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Meringue tips:  Make sure your bowl and beaters (or whisk attachment) are very clean and dry.  Chill the bowl and the beaters for better results.  Keep the egg whites in the fridge until ready to use, and make sure there is absolutely no yolk in them.  Watch the egg whites closely; they can go from perfect to ruined in the blink of an eye.  Try not to make the meringue next the oven or in humid room.  Heat and humidity can prevent the egg whites from achieving proper peaks.

This recipe is linked to Tasty Tuesday