Old Time Lemon Pie is a classic Lemon Meringue Pie just like your grandmother used to make. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and tart and is topped with piles of pillowy meringue. Can’t get any better than this!
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Key to Success #1 – Make the Classic Crust
To save time, I used a Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust for my Old Time Lemon Pie.
You can use your favorite pie crust recipe or even use a frozen crust from your local grocery store.
Just make sure it is baked before you put your lemon pie filling into it.
For the Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust, I popped it into the microwave on the defrost setting for a few seconds to soften the dough.
Then I unrolled it over the top of my pretty sunflower yellow Fiesta pie baker.
This pie plate is really nice and deep and the perfect size for this Old Time Lemon Pie.
Next, I used a fork to prick all around the bottom and sides of the pie dish so that the crust wouldn’t bubble up while cooking.
Then bake according to the package directions, which for me I think was bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees F.
As soon as the pie crust comes out of the oven, it’s ready to fill.
Since you will be putting meringue on top of the filling and baking it again, it’s preferred to have a warm crust.
This will help seal the meringue to the crust and keep the filling from getting watery.
Key to Success #2 – Whisk the Filling Constantly
The lemon filling in this Old Time Lemon Pie a simple mixture of sugar, water, flour, egg yolks and lemon juice.
You’ll bring everything to a boil over medium heat EXCEPT for the lemon juice.
Be sure to whisk the mixture constantly to make it extra smooth and silky.
Once the mixture comes to a boil, it will begin to thicken up pretty quickly. Now is the time to add the lemon juice.
Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best but you can use juice from concentrate if you’re in a hurry.
Continue whisking until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens again.
If you’d like, you can add a drop or two of yellow food coloring to your lemon pie filling to give it a nice yellow color.
I added the food coloring to mine and I’m happy with the way it turned out. It’s completely up to your preference though.
Key to Success #3 – Top It With Light and Fluffy Meringue
One of the keys to a great meringue is starting off with room-temperature eggs.
Since you already separated the egg yolks from the whites to make the lemon pie filling, your egg whites should have already started to warm up a bit.
Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until they are nice and fluffy.
Once the eggs are fluffy, slowly start adding the granulated sugar.
You can also add a bit of cream of tartar to your meringues to help them stabilize and not weep; however, the cream of tartar can change the flavor of the meringue.
For this reason, I choose not to use cream of tartar in my pie meringue.
After you’ve added the sugar, be sure you beat the meringue ONLY until it forms stiff peaks.
If you beat the egg whites too long, they may become too stiff to smooth over the top of your pie.
As you can see in some of my pictures, I had a little bit of weeping on the top of my meringue but it was not soggy between the filling and the meringue.
I think this is a fair trade-off for having delicious meringue that doesn’t taste like cream of tartar.
Save this Old Time Lemon Pie to your favorite Pies Board or your Citrus Desserts Board.
Old Time Lemon Pie
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs divided
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1 pie shell
- 6 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1-2 drops yellow food coloring optional
Instructions
- Prepare one 9-inch pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees F until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Mix sugar and flour. Mix egg yolks with water and stir into flour mixture.
- Blend this well and cook in heavy saucepan on medium heat, whisking until thick. Add 1/2 cup lemon juice and whisk well. Stir in yellow food coloring, if using. Pour into cooked shell.
- Beat egg whites until stiff, slowly adding 6 tablespoons of sugar. Cover top of pie with whites and place in 350 degree F oven until brown. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.
Debbie
Tuesday 30th of August 2022
Old Timey Lemon Pie recipe is the best and closest to what I tasted as a child that I've found so far! It's so easy and everyone loves it! My search for the perfect Lemon Pie recipe is over! Thank you so much for the step-by-step instructions and suggestions as well!