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Baking recipe · from the recipe book

Tall Lemon Meringue Pies

A tart, silky lemon curd under a cloud of toasted, marshmallowy meringue in a crisp, flaky butter crust.

Tall Lemon Meringue Pies

Ingredients

  • 2¾ cups340 gAll-purpose flour
  • 1¼ cups281 gUnsalted buttercold, cut into small cubes, divided
  • 3 cups612 gGranulated sugardivided
  • ¾ tsp5 gSaltdivided
  • 3½ cups820 gWaterdivided; ice-cold for the crust
  • ⅔ cup80 gCornstarch
  • 8 large400 gEggs8 large, separated
  • 5 lemons, juiced240 gLemon juice
  • 2 tbsp12 gLemon zest
  • 1 tsp4 gVanilla extract

Steps

  1. Make the crust: whisk the flour, 12 g of the sugar and 4 g of the salt in a large bowl. Cut in 225 g of the butter (keep the other 56 g for the filling) until the pieces are the size of peas.
  2. Drizzle in 100 g of the water, ice-cold, tossing with a fork until the dough holds together when squeezed. Divide it in half, flatten into two disks, wrap and chill for 1 hour.
  3. Roll each disk into a 12-inch circle, ease into two 9-inch pie plates, fold the edges under and crimp. Freeze for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
  4. Line each crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 20 minutes, remove the parchment and weights, and bake 10 to 12 minutes more until golden. Lower the oven to 375°F (190°C).
  5. Separate the eggs: yolks into one bowl, whites into a clean, grease-free mixing bowl for the meringue.
  6. Make the lemon filling: in a large saucepan whisk 400 g of the sugar, the cornstarch and the remaining 1 g of salt, then whisk in the remaining 720 g of water. Cook over medium heat, whisking, until thick and bubbling, about 8 minutes.
  7. Whisk the yolks, then slowly whisk in about one cup of the hot mixture to warm them. Pour the yolk mixture back into the pan and cook, whisking, for 2 minutes at a gentle bubble so it is well above 160°F (71°C).
  8. Off the heat, whisk in the lemon juice, the lemon zest and the reserved 56 g of butter until smooth. Divide the hot filling evenly between the two baked crusts.
  9. Make the meringue right away: beat the egg whites to soft peaks, then add the remaining 200 g of sugar a spoonful at a time and beat to stiff, glossy peaks. Beat in the vanilla.
  10. Spread half of the meringue over each hot filling, sealing it to the crust edges so it won't shrink, and swirl into peaks.
  11. Bake both pies 12 to 15 minutes, until the meringue is golden on the peaks and reaches 160°F (71°C) inside.
  12. Cool the pies on a rack for 1 hour, then chill at least 3 hours until set. Cut each pie into 6 slices with a knife dipped in hot water.

Food safety: Don't taste raw dough or batter: raw flour and raw eggs can carry germs.

Contains: Milk, Egg, Gluten.

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Saved in the Every Helping recipe book on October 24, 2026.

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