• preheat oven to 425° f
• get your pie crust ready, and take a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the pie crust. crumple into a ball then lay flat in the pie crust.
• pour in pie weights (I used dried chick peas) into the pie crust and bake in the oven for 2o minutes.
• remove from the oven and allow to cool. the crust should be brown on the edges but the center will not be fully baked. this is ok.
• turn the temperature of the oven down to 300°f

lemon filling

• Take 4 eggs and separate the whites from the yolk and set aside ready to use.
• In a medium-sized pot add water, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and lemon zest. whisk all ingredients together.
• place the pot on the stove over medium heat and bring it to a soft boil stirring constantly.
• remove 3-4 tablespoons of the hot lemon mixture and add it to the egg yolks. stir quickly so as to not scramble the eggs. then pour the eggs into the pot and whisk again being sure not yo scramble the eggs.
• bring the mixture up to a soft boil again then cook for about 2 minutes.
• remove the pot from the heat and add the butter. stir until the butter is melted.
• pour the mixture into your prepared pie crust, you can strain it if you think you have some lumps but if you stirred constantly you should not have a problem.
• cover the pie in plastic wrap while you make the meringue.

Meringue

• add 4 egg whites to a large bowl along with vanilla and cream of tartar.
• using a stand mixer or hand beater, start slowly and mix the egg whites. Then increase until you are at a maximum speed.
• whip the egg white mixture until you have a soft peak consistency. when you pull the beater out the mixture should stand but the point will curl.
• add in the sugar and staring with a slow speed then increase to a high-speed beat mixture until you have a hard peak consistency. the mixture will stand and the point will not curl it will stand straight up. you should have a nice shiny meringue. do not overbeat
• remove the plastic wrap and spoon the meringue onto the pie. making sure your meringue touches the crust and you do not see any yellow from the lemon filling.
• use a spoon or spatula to add texture to the meringue.
• bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is a golden brown.
• your pie will have a bit of a jiggle to it when you take it out but it should not be a liquid texture.
• allow to set for up to 5 hours or overnight. eating the pie the same day is always recommended for freshness.