Foodie Friday--Pies

My daughter prefers pies to cake so I made her two for her birthday. For the first pie I coated the bottom of the crust with chocolate, added a cheesecake pudding, then the cherry pie filling topped with cool whip or whipped cream. For the second pie-Lemon Meringue. I love a classic Lemon Meringue but feel they are always too sweet. I cut the sugar to half in the lemon part and cut the sugar for the meringue down just slightly. I also have learned to use the microwave to cook the pudding part. It is faster and you don't get the scorching that can happen when using a pan over the stove. The secret to the Meringue of course, is attaching the meringue completely to the sides of the crust in every spot. This way, the meringue does not pull away from the crust or "weep". Both pies were delicious. I'll share the Lemon one here.

Lemon Meringue Pie1 baked pie crust (I use Martha Stewart's recipe made in the food processor)

3/4 cup sugar
3 T. cornstarch
3 T. flour
dash of salt
1 1/2 cups hot water
3 beaten egg yolks
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 T. butter
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice


Combine sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually blend in water. Microwave until it is thick and translucent about 3 minutes. Stir after 1 minute. Stir small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks then return it to the hot mixture and gradually mix the two until blended. Add lemon peel and butter and mix completely. Gradually stir in 1/3 cup lemon juice. Cover entire surface with clear plastic wrap and let it cool for 10 minutes. Then pour into baked pie shell.Meringue
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon lemon juice
5 T. sugar

Beat egg whites with 1 teaspoon lemon juice till soft peaks form. Gradually add 5 T. sugar, beating till stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Spread meringue over filling, sealing to edges of pastry. Bake in moderate oven 12 minutes or till meringue is golden. Cool thoroughly before serving. Tip: A wet knife slices easily through the meringue.The birthday candles were 2 and ? placed on the pie by her husband!
Try this recipe and see if you don't agree that it is just the right amount of sweetness. For other wonderful recipes click here for Designs by Gollum site our generous host of Foodie Friday.