High Altitude Meringue For Pie Recipes

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, 3 tablespoons sugar, salt, lemon juice and water.
• Bring to a slow boil over medium heat and stir until clear and thick.
• Set aside and cool completely.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
• Gradually add cooled cornstarch mixture, beating until mixture thickens.
• Gradually add 6 tablespoons sugar, beating until soft peaks form, approximately 5 to 8 minutes.
• Spoon the prepared meringue over your favorite pie and bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Steps:

• Make the crust: Pulse the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the shortening and pulse a few times until combined. Add the butter and pulse just until coarse crumbs form. Add the vinegar and 3 tablespoons ice water; pulse until the dough comes together but is slightly crumbly. Pinch the dough - if it's too crumbly, pulse in more ice water 1 teaspoon at a time. Turn out the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap the dough, then flatten into a disk. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 13-inch round. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself, then crimp the edges. Refrigerate the crust until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, line with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place the crust on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown around the edges, about 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights and continue baking until the crust is a deep golden brown on the bottom, 20 to 30 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while preparing the filling but leave the oven on.
• Make the filling: Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl until smooth; set aside. Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan to combine. Whisk in the water and lemon juice and turn the heat to medium. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, whisking, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Slowly whisk about one-quarter of the sugar mixture into the egg yolks. Whisk in another one-quarter of the sugar mixture until smooth, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Continue cooking, whisking constantly to keep the egg yolks from scrambling, about 1 more minute. Stir in the butter and lemon zest until the butter melts; remove from the heat.
• Immediately make the meringue while the filling is still hot: Combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Very slowly beat in the sugar; continue beating until firm glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes more (do not overbeat). Give the lemon filling a quick stir, then pour into the crust. Immediately spread the meringue on top of the hot filling, spreading it all the way to the crust; use the back of a spoon to make swoops and peaks. Bake until the meringue is golden brown in spots, 5 to 7 minutes; do not overbake to avoid weeping.
• Remove the pie to a rack and let cool 1 hour, then refrigerate until completely cooled before slicing, about 4 hours.

Steps:

• If using a hand-held mixer, you will need a very deep bowl, and should move the beaters vigorously when beating the egg whites for the meringue, to avoid underbeating the egg whites. This pie is best on the day it's made.
• FOR THE FILLING: Whisk sugar, lemon juice, water, cornstarch, and salt together in a large nonreactive saucepan until cornstarch is dissolved. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Whisk in yolks until comined. Stir in zest and butter. Bring to simmer and stir constantly until mixture is thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 2 minutes. Strain through fine-mesh strainer into pie shell and scrape filling off underside of strainer. Place wrap directly on surface of filling and refrigerate until set and well chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• FOR THE MERINGUE: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400°F Combine water and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to vigorous boil over medium-high heat. Once syrup comes to rolling boil, cook 4 minutes (mixture will become slightly thickened and syrupy). Remove from heat and set aside while beating whites.
• With electric mixer, beat in large bowl, at medium-low speed until frothy, about 1 minutes. Add salt and cream of tartar, and beat , gradually increasing sped to medium-high, until whites hold soft peaks, about 2 minutes. With mixer runnin, slowly pour hot syrup into whites (avoid pouring syrup onto whisk or it will splash). Add vanilla and beat until meringue has cooled and becomes very thick.
• Using rubber spatula, mound meringue over filling, making sure meringue touches edges of crust. Use spatula to create peaks all over meringue. Bake until peaks turn golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to wire rack, and cool to room temerature.

Steps:

• Separate a cold egg by transferring the yolk between the broken halves and letting the white drip into a small bowl. Transfer the white into a metal or glass mixing bowl. Separate the next egg over the small bowl as well-not over the mixing bowl. This way, if some of the yolk gets in the white, then you have lost only one egg. Let egg whites come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Beat the egg whites at the mixer's top speed until the mixture looks like sea form on a beach. Add cream of tartar to the foam to help stabilize the meringue. Keep beating egg whites at high speed until they reach soft peaks. When you lift the beaters from the beaten egg whites, the peaks will stand up straight and then fall over. Add the sugar gradually, about a tablespoon at a time, all while beating at a high speed. When you lift the beaters, the meringue pulls into pointy peaks that stay that way. At this stage, add the vanilla, and beat just long enough to mix it in. Using the back of a spoon, spread the meringue over a hot pie filling, first spreading around the rim of the pie and then filling in the center. Use the spoon to smooth the meringue. Make sure to seal the edges by spreading the meringue to the edges of the pastry. Use the back of the spoon to pull the meringue up into peaks all over the pie. Put the pie in the oven, do not let it sit. Use this basic meringue recipe for any pie. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Bake the pie with meringue topping for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let pie cool before slices and serving.

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 13-inch round. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Tuck overhang under, flush with rim, and crimp edges. Pierce bottom of shell all over with a fork. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line shell with parchment, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges begin to turn golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove weights and parchment. Bake until crust is golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Combine the cornstarch, sugar, zest, and salt in a saucepan. Whisk in the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until bubbling and thick, about 7 minutes (about 2 minutes after it comes to a boil).
• In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks until combined. Pour in cornstarch mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking until completely incorporated. Return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it returns to a boil, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in lemon juice. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until each piece melts before adding the next. Let custard cool in saucepan on a wire rack 10 minutes, whisking occasionally.
• Pour custard into crust. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of custard. Refrigerate until custard filling is chilled and firm, at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
• Heap meringue on top of filling, making sure it extends to edge and touches crust (to prevent shrinking). Use a kitchen torch to lightly brown meringue peaks. Alternatively, place pie under the broiler for 1 or 2 minutes; watch carefully to ensure meringue doesn't burn. Serve immediately.