3tablespoonslemon zest(3 tablespoons will give you a tart lemon curd to balance out the sweetness of the crust and meringue, if you prefer a less tart curd use 1 ½-2 tablespoons zest)
4tablespoonsbuttermelted
Meringue:
½cupgranulated sugar
¼teaspoonof cream of tarter
1teaspoonvanilla extract
3-4large egg whitessee notes
Pinchof salt
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Crust:
Cream together butter, sugar, and egg for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, salt, almond extract, and flour until just combined.
This recipe makes enough for TWO crusts! Divide dough in half. This dough freezes super well. Wrap the other half of the dough in 2 layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. This dough is also what we use to make fruit tarts!
Press dough into a pie pan or tart pan and freeze for 1 hour (this keeps the dough from slumping too much while it bakes).
Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely before pouring lemon curd into it.
Lemon Curd:
Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, and sugar for 2 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow. Whisk in cornstarch and salt, making sure there are no lumps.
Whisk in lemon juice, water, lemon zest, and melted butter until fully incorporated. Pour mixture into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk mixture continuously for 7 minutes, scraping down the sides every 30 seconds or so. The mixture should deepen in color and become very thick.
Remove from heat and whisk for 1 minute more. Pour curd into your cooled crust. Smooth curd out and wrap in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 1 hour.
Meringue:
Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tarter in a heat safe bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir constantly until mixture is slightly frothy, warm (not hot, you don’t want scrambled eggs), and sugar is completely dissolved and the temperature reaches 175 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t have a thermometer, One way to test this is rub the mixture between your fingers, if you cannot feel any grittiness of the sugar then it is done!
Remove bowl from simmering pot of water and cool to room temperature. Using a hand mixer whip the egg whites. Start with a low speed and increase the speed after each minute. After about two minutes of whipping add in salt and vanilla. Keep whip until you have smooth, glossy, stiff peaks, this may take several minutes.
Top your refrigerated pie with your meringue. You can use a kitchen torch to toast the outside of your meringue if desired or place under broiler for 3 minutes (watch it carefully!) Your meringue is already fully cooked so it’s not strictly necessary for you to do this.