Lemon Meringue Pie

Dear Lemon Meringue Pie,
I'm sorry for the brutal attack. I acted in haste and got a little crazy with the knife. You never did anything but look tempting and delicious and I hurt you. You deserved to have an experienced pie cutter slice your lemony goodness into appealing portions, but instead you got me. Please forgive me.

Apologies,
Heidi :)

So... the pie probably won't forgive me for not slicing it perfectly, but hopefully you will after tasting it. Pie isn't something I get to make very often because my husband isn't a big fan of crust. Personally, I think that's the best part! He must be crazy (and this is coming from a person who just wrote an apology to a pie) :) I had a bunch of lemons headed toward making lemon bars, but I asked Brad what dessert he liked with lemon and about fell over when he said pie! I found the recipe over at allrecipes.com and it turned out super-duper-yummy. Enjoy :)

LEMON MERINGUE PIE
flaky crust (or use store bought)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chilled shortening
3 TBSP ice water

Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the cold shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water over flour. Toss mixture with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together. Gently gather dough particles together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling. Roll out dough, and put in a pie plate. To pre-Bake poke bottom and sides with fork and bake 12- 15 minutes at 450.

lemon filling and meringue
1 cup white sugar
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
3 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 lemons, juiced and zested
2 TBSP butter
4 egg yolks, beaten
4 egg whites
6 TBSP white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.