Recipe: Crisco Lemon Meringue Pie (1937)

LEMON MERINGUE PIE
(Crisco, 1937)

FOR THE FILLING:
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups water
1 orange, juice and pulp
1 lemon, juice and grated rind
2 tablespoons Crisco
1 baked Crisco Pastry Shell (click here for recipe)
FOR THE MERINGUE:
2 egg whites
4 tablespoons sugar

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Blend sugar, cornstarch, and salt together. Stir in water and cook until thick. Just before removing from stove add beaten yolks, fruit juice, lemon rind, and Crisco. Cook for a few minutes longer.

Pour into baked, digestible Crisco pastry shell.

TO MAKE THE MERINGUE:
Add sugar gradually to egg whites. Beat until mixture is very smooth. Cover pie with meringue.

Brown in slow oven (325 degrees F).

TIPS:
The Secret of Successful Meringue Pie Depends Largely on a Smooth Filling and a Fluffy Meringue

To keep filling smooth and thick:
1. Blend thickening agent (cornstarch or flour) with sugar.
2. Stir filling constantly while cooking. Be sure to let mixture come to a boil before adding eggs.
3. Never put lemon juice in at beginning. It is likely to react with the cornstarch or flour and cause the filling to become thin.

To keep meringue from shrinking:
1. Use correct proportion of sugar and egg whites - 2 tablespoons sugar to each egg white (this recipe uses 4 tablespoons sugar to 2 egg whites).
2. Add sugar gradually. Beat until mixture is very smooth.
3. Bake meringue slowly. Allow 10 to 20 minutes.

Makes 1 (9-inch) pie
From: Recipelink.com
Source: Recipe booklet: Cooking Hints and Tested Recipes from Winifred S. Carter (Crisco), The Procter & Gamble Company, 1937