Lemon Meringue Pie

45 minutes preparation, 1 hour chilling, 12-15 minutes baking

Preheat oven to 350'.

9" packaged pie crust, pre-baked if frozen

4 large egg yolks (save the whites for later)

3 large eggs

1 C sugar

¾ C fresh lemon juice

2 T cornstarch

½ C (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into small pieces

∙ In top of a double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch.

∙ Place over simmering water.

∙ Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, till thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

∙ Do not let mixture boil.

∙ Remove mixture from over water.

∙ Stir in butter.

∙ Pour into crust.

4 large egg whites

¼ t cornstarch

¼ t cream of tartar

½ C powdered sugar

1 t vanilla extract

∙ Beat egg whites at medium speed till foamy.

∙ Beat in cornstarch and cream of tartar till soft peaks form.

∙ Gradually beat in sugar and vanilla at high speed till stiff, but not dry, peaks form.

∙ Spoon meringue into a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip.

∙ Pipe meringue decoratively over filling to edge of crust.

∙ Bake pie till meringue is golden, 12-15 minutes.

∙ Makes 10 servings

Make sure the meringue is piped right to the edge of the crust, to prevent the filling from seeping out.

When making meringue, it is important not to over-beat the mixture.

Adding a pinch of cream of tartar makes the egg whites less prone to over beating.