The ultimate lemon meringue pie - no weep

9 Inch

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
Graham Cracker-Coated Shell
1¼ cup All-purpose flour
½ teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Sugar
6 tablespoons Unsalted chilled butter; cut
Into 1/4\" pieces
6 tablespoons Unsalted chilled butter; cut
Into 1/4\" pieces
4 tablespoons All-purpose vegetable
Shortening; chilled
3 tablespoons To 4 T cold wate
½ cup Graham cracker crumbs
Lemon Filling:
1 cup Sugar
¼ cup Cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon Salt
1½ cup Cold water
6 larges Egg yolks
1 tablespoon Zest from 1 lemon
½ cup Juice from 2 or 3 lemons
2 tablespoons Unsalted butter
Meringue Topping:
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
½ cup Sugar
4 larges Egg whites
½ teaspoon Vanilla extract

Directions

COOK'S ILLUSTRATED 11/12/94

1. For the pie shell, mix flour, salt, and sugar in food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with a little of the flour. Cut butter into flour with five 1-second pulses. Add shortening; continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than a small pea, about 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons cold water over mixture. Using rubber spatula, fold water into mixture; press down on dough mixtue with broad side of spatula, fold water into mixture; press down on dough sticks together. If dough will not come together, add up to 1 tablespoon more cold water. Shape dough into ball, then flatten into 4-inch-wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.

3. Generously spinkle work area with 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs. Place dough on work area. Scatter a few more crumbs over dough. Roll dough from center to edges, turning it into a 9-inch disk, rotating a quarter turn after each stroke and sprinkling additional crumbs underneath and on top as necessary to coat heavily.

Flip dough over, and continue to roll, but not rotate, to form a 13-inch disk slighly less than ⅛-inch thick.

4. Fold dough in quarters; place dough point in center of 9-inch Pyrex pie pan. Unfold to cover pan completely, letting excess dough drape over pan lip. To fit dough to pan, lift edge of dough with one hand and press dough in pan bottom with other hand; repeat process around circumference of pan to ensure dough fits properly and is not stretched. Trim all around, ½-inch past lip of pan. Tuck ½ inch of overhanging dough under so folded edge is flush with lip pan; press to seal. Press thumb and index finger about ½-inch apart against outside edge of dough, then use index finger or knuckle of other hand to poke a dent on inside edgeof dough through opening created by the other fingers. Repeat to flute around perimeter of pie shell.

5. Refrigerate until firm, aout 30 minutes. Prick shell at ½-inch intervals; press a doubled 12-inch square of aluminum foil into pie shell; prick again and refrigerate a least 30 minutes.

6. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, heat oven to 400 degrees.

Bake, checking occasionally for ballooning, until crust is firmly set, about 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, remove foil, and continue to bake until crust is crisp and rich brown in color, about 10 minutes longer. 7. For the Filling, mix first four ingredients in a large, nonreactivve saucepan. Bring mixture to simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally at beginning of the process and more frequently as mixture begins to thicken. When mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent, whisk in egg yolks, two at a time. Whisk in zest, then lemon juice, and finally butter. Bring mixture to a good simmer, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, place plastic wrap directly on surface of filling to keep hot and prevent skin from forming.

8. For the meringue, mix cornstarch with ⅓ cup water in small saucepan; bring to simmer, whisking occasionally at beginning and more frequently as mixture thickens. When mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent, remove from heat. Leet cool while beating egg whites.

9. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix cream of tartar and sugar together. Beat egg whites and vanilla until frothy. Beat in sugar mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; until sugar is incorporated and mixture forms soft peaks. Add cornstarch mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue to beat meringue to stiff peaks. Remove plastic from filling and return to very low heat during last minute or so of beating meringue (to ensure filling is hot). MM Norma_Wrenn

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