A January Birthday Favorite!

January...

while everyone around us is making resolutions to eat better, go on a diet etc...we have several family birthdays that come the first 2 weeks of January and so we are all still eating yummy treats that come along with birthdays.

January 11th means
Lemon Meringue Pie!

Tracy's mom's birthday
is on this day and Lemon Meringue Pie is her favorite and so that is what gets made on 1-11 each year!

Tracy and I are really going to have to get extra walking in this week as we ate 1/2 a lemon pie together. It was SO succulent and yummy and worth every amount of calories we consumed!!

Now to share this yummyness and how it is made.
BTW---January means Citrus Sales at the store and lemons are usually 3 for $1.00 and so for $1.00 you have enough lemon juice to make 2 pies.

Preparation...
--make and bake pie crusts
--grate lemon
--slice and juice lemon
--separate egg yolks/whites

The filling...
--add boiling water to dry ingredients
--boil until thick
--quickly stir in lemon/egg yolk mixture
--pour into pie shell

Lemon Meringue Pie

(1) 9 inch baked pie shell (click here for crust recipe)
1 ½ cups sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups boiling water
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup lemon juice (1-1/2 lemons juiced)
1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind
3 egg whites(for meringue)

Combine dry ingredients in heavy saucepan.
Add water slowly, stirring until smooth.
Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils, stirring constantly.
Stir small amounts of hot mixture into egg yolk, lemon juice and lemon rind.
Quickly stir into hot mixture.
Reduce heat to low and cook slowly, stirring for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Pour into pie shell.
Top with meringue and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

(Meringue)
3 egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tarter
6 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat egg whites with cream of tarter until frothy.
Gradually beat in sugar a little at a time. Add vanilla.
Continue beating until stiff and glossy.
Pile meringue onto pie being careful to “seal” meringue onto edge of crust to prevent shrinking. (Filling exposed to heat will “weep”).
Swirl or point top for design.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until delicately browned. Cool slowly away from draft.

Enjoy!

"Seize the moment.
Remember all those women
on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart".
~Erma Bombeck