Pattis Lemon Meringue Pie Recipes

GRANDMA'S LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• 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.

PATTI'S LEMON-MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Make piecrust: Sift flour and salt together into a large bowl. Blend in shortening with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in ice water a little at a time until dough comes together.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough with a floured rolling pin into an 11-inch round. Transfer to a 10-inch pie plate. Trim edge to create a 1/2-inch overhang; tuck edge under itself. Prick bottom all over with a fork. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Place pie shell on a baking sheet; line with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake shell, rotating sheet about halfway through, until edges of crust are just browned, about 15 minutes. Remove parchment and weights; continue baking until bottom of crust is just browned, about 5 minutes more. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.
• Make filling: Remove zest from 2 lemons with a vegetable peeler; finely chop zest (reserve lemons for juicing). Process zest with 1 tablespoon sugar in a food processor until finely ground.
• Whisk together remaining 2 cups sugar and the cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in 2 cups water; add zest mixture. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 8 minutes (mixture will boil and thicken).
• Lightly beat egg yolks in a large bowl. Slowly whisk half of cornstarch mixture into beaten egg yolks. Return yolk mixture to cornstarch mixture in pan, and whisk together. Bring to a boil, and whisk constantly until very thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add lemon juice and butter, and whisk until well combined. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface, to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
• Pour filling into pie shell; set aside. Make meringue: Put egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until foamy. Beat in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form. Beat in vanilla.
• Heap meringue on top of filling, making sure it touches crust (to prevent shrinking). Bake pie until meringue is pale brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack in a draft-free spot.

PATTI LABELLE'S LEMON BARS RECIPE - (4.7/5)

Steps:

• preheat oven to 350. lightly grease an 8 inch square nonstick baking pan, and line it with criss crossed sheets of aluminum foil or parchment paper so that 2 inches hang over each side to create "handles". lightly grease foil, and coat with dusting of flour. turn pan upside down and tap to remove excess flour. prepare the crust; whisk together 1 cup flour, powdered sugar and salt in a large bowl. add butter, and stir to combine. knead until a smooth dough forms. crumble dough forms. crumble dough into prepared baking sheet, and press gently into and even layer. freeze 15mins. bake crust in the center rack of the preheated oven until golden, 15 to 20mins. remove from oven and set aside. prepare the filling: whisk together remaining 1/3 cup flour, sugar, lemon zest, juice and eggs in a large bowl until smooth. pour mixture over hot crust. return to oven, and bake until filling is lightly browned, 20 to 25mins run a small sharp knife around the inside edges of the pan to loosen pastry. cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30mins. lift the foil handles to remove pastry from pan. place on rack to cool completely about 30mins. cut pastry into 9 equal squares. peel off and disgard foil. just before serving, sift powdered sugar over bars.