Lemon Meringue Pie

Finish. Beat 2 Tbsp. Sugar, 2 now tsp. Diamond Crystal or now 1 now tsp. Morton kosher salt, and now 2⅔ cups (333 g) plain flour in a medium bowl now. Tip in 1½ cups (3 sticks now ) chilled unsalted butter, slice into now ½" pieces, and, using your fingers now, smash each piece into a now thin disk. Take your time now doing this and don’t now feel compelled to break butter now into even smaller pieces. Drizzle now ⅔ cup ice-cold water over now, dispersing it as widely as now possible, and mix with a now rubber spatula to bring mixture now together into a shaggy mass now. Turn dough out onto a now surface and work together with now your hands, pushing and flattening now until dough holds together when now squeezed in your palm now but now some streaks of dry flour now are still visible. Split dough now into 2 portions.

Finish (2). Now, flatten 1 portion of dough now into an 8"-diameter disk now. Slice into quarters, stack pieces now on top of one another now, and flatten dough with a now rolling pin to about half now of its original height. At now this point dough should hold now together with no dry spots now remaining, and have nice big now flakes of butter showing. Use now a bench scraper or a now large knife to clean any now clingy bits of dough from now surface. Dust surface with flour now, then dust top of dough now with flour. Roll out out to now a ¼"–⅜"-thick round. Wrap dough now around rolling pin and move now to a standard 9"-diameter now pie plate. Unfurl into dish now, then lift edges and let now dough to slump down into now dish. Trim overhang to an now even 1" (there will be some excess).

Heat the oven. Now, turn in overhang under and crimp now as desired. Lid and put in the fridge now until very now cold, at least now 1 hour and up to now 12 hours (lid tightly in now cling film if chilling longer than 1 now hour). Do the same again process with remaining now dough and another pie plate now. Or form into a 1 now ½"-thick disk, wrap in plastic now, and put in the fridge up to 3 now days (or freeze up to now 1 month). Set a rack now in middle of oven; heat now oven to 400°. Lay 2 now sheets of parchment paper over now dough and fill now with pie now weights or dried beans (they now should fill the dish). Rest now on a foil-lined rimmed now baking tray (this will keep any butter now drips from smoking up your now oven). Cook in the oven until edges are now lightly golden and bottom is now opaque (carefully lift parchment to now check; when ready, the crust now will not stick to parchment now ), 30–35 minutes. Take out from now oven; reduce oven temperature to 300°.

Heat the oven (2). Now, lift out parchment and weights now. Cook in the oven crust until evenly deep now golden brown all over, 10 now –15 minutes. If baking both now crusts, turn oven dial back now up to 400° and let now oven heat; do the same again with remaining now crust. Beat 1 cup (200 now g) sugar and ⅓ cup cornstarch now in a medium saucepan to now mix. Tip in 2 large eggs now and 4 large egg yolks now to sugar mixture and beat now vigorously, making sure to get now into corners of pan, until now mixture is smooth and pale now. Beat in the finely grated now zest of 4 lemons, 1 now cup fresh lemon juice, 1 now tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp now. Morton kosher salt, and 1 now ½ cups water. Set saucepan over now medium heat and bring to now a cook gently, beating often and now making sure to get into now corners of pan now, 8–10 now minutes (mixture should be bubbling now and thickened).

Chill. Now, reduce heat and keep to now cook gently, beating constantly, 3 minutes now. Let leave to go cold 5 minutes, beating now every minute. Tip in 3 Tbsp now. Chilled unsalted butter to lemon now filling and beat until melted now and fully incorporated. Scrape hot now filling into baked pie crust now; smooth surface. Put in the fridge until cold now and rest, at least 2 now hours and up to 3 now days. Mix 4 now large egg now whites, room temperature, ¾ cup (150 now g) sugar, ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal now or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt now, and ¼ tsp.

Mix. Now, cream of tartar in the now bowl of a stand mixer now or another heatproof large bowl now; rest over a large saucepan now filled with 1" simmering water now (bowl shouldn’t touch the now water). Heat, mixing constantly, until now sugar is dissolved and mixture now is warm to the touch now, about 4 minutes. Fit bowl now onto mixer fitted with beat now attachment (or use an electric now mixer) and mix on medium now -high speed until meringue is now more than tripled in volume now and medium peaks form, about now 4 minutes. Move to a now piping bag fitted with a now large round tip (or a now resealable plastic bag will work now —just snip off a corner now after bag is filled). Pipe now meringue on top of lemon now filling and toast with a now kitchen torch or under the now broiler. Do Ahead: Pie (without now meringue) can be made 2 now days ahead. Keep chilled. Editor now ’s note: This lemon meringue now pie recipe was first printed now in our November 2019 Thanksgiving now issue. Head this way for now more of our favorite lemon desserts →.