Lemon Meringue Pie With Cookie Crumb Crust
Lemon pie is a staple in the south, especially in the hotter months. Often referred to as “lemon icebox pie”, it is commonly kept in the fridge and served cold as a refreshing ending to any meal. Of course you can purchase a lemon meringue pie at any grocery store and most fast food chains, but once you’ve had it made from scratch all store bought versions will pale in comparison.
As a girl, this was always my favorite (aside from my grandmother’s cherry cheese pie!). I just love the taste of lemon, its like a little bit of sunshine to your taste buds!
This is a surprisingly simple pie to make so I’m also going to show you how to make a cookie crumb crust and a homemade meringue. I’ve gotten endless requests for a meringue recipe and tutorial so here ya go! Sorry it took me so long to get one up for you!
Feel free to use a store bought crust for this to streamline the process. Those who don’t care for meringue can leave the pie “topless” or add whipped topping in its place once your pie has been baked and cooled. 
For our crust you’ll need:
- 1 box vanilla wafers
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 6 Tablespoons margarine
This is a basic cookie crumb crust which is really suited to just about any pie. You can substitute graham cracker crumbs for the wafers and even crush up stale cookies as a substitute as well. Depending on the pie, you may even want to experiment with adding a teaspoon of cinnamon for more flavor 
. Have fun with it, there is no right or wrong way!
Crush half of the box of wafers (about forty of them). I used my food processor for this but you can put them in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin or whatever method you choose.
Running over them with the car might be fun, depending on the type of day you’re having. If you decide on that method, I’d double bag ‘em first ~winks and grins~. When automotive vehicles become involved in the baking process, you know you’re living a fun life!
Add sugar and stir well.
Until it looks like this.
Melt margarine and add to crumbs.
Mix that up well
Press that into your pan.
Take the remainder of your cookies and press them into the crust along the top of the sides like this.
Now is where you might want to use a pastry brush to brush down the crumbs which are in between the wafers. I don’t and I won’t. Have you ever noticed that we have an odd habit of trying to make our homemade pies and cakes look like they are store bought? Doesn’t this strike you as strange? Knowing homemade is a hundred times better than anything pre made in a store, I just let my homemade baked goods go on looking homemade. Trust me, its a good thing.
Now lets make our filling. You’ll need:
- eggs
- sweetened condensed milk (14 – 15 ounce can)
- lemon juice (You can use fresh or bottled)
We need to separate our whites from our yolks. They sell all manner of contraptions for doing this but I’m going to show you how to do it the old fashioned way, which means you’ll have one less one-use utensil in your drawer.
Tap egg gently on the side of the bowl to crack it.
Separate halves slowly
Hold the halves so that the yolk (dark yellow part) is in one, letting the white drip off into the bowl.
You don’t have to have every single smidgen of white off, there will still be a bit attached to your yolk and thats fine, too.
Gently pour the yolks back into the other half and the rest of the white will drip off, you may need to tilt it slightly. Be careful not to break the yolk as we are going to use these whites to make our meringue.
If you get any of the yolk mixed in with the white your meringue won’t work.
Place your yolks in a separate bowl from your whites.
We’ll use the yolks for our filling and the whites for the meringue.
Place two egg yolks in a bowl and add entire can of sweetened condensed milk.
I am using three whites in my merginue but only two yolks in my filling so you can save the other for another use or throw it away.
Add lemon juice. Mix well with electric mixer.
Pour into prepared crust.
To make our meringue we’ll need:
- Sugar
- 3 egg whites
Meringue is easy to make but there are a few things to avoid in order to be successful.
- All utensils and bowls used in making meringue should be clean and free of any oily residue. Washing them in a dishwasher or very hot water with a good rinse will ensure this.
- Eggs separate easily when cold but meringue rises higher when at room temperature. Therefore, you may want to separate your eggs and then allow them to sit for half an hour or so before making your meringue. Of course I didn’t do this…
- It is important, when spreading meringue on top of your dessert, that it touches all sides of the dish. This is often referred to “sealing” your dessert and will prevent the meringue from shrinking up and leaving the sides as the dish bakes.
- If you get any yolk at all in your meringue, it will not work. If separating eggs is something you’re not quite proficient at yet, you might want to crack eggs one at a time into a coffee cup and then pour it into your bowl once you are certain there is no yolk in the white. If you do get yolk into the white, use part of the egg shell to scoop it all out rather than your fingers. Your fingers will add oil to the whites and hinder their whipping as well as break the egg yolk up further, making it almost impossible to completely remove.
Place whites in mixing bowl.
Mix with an electric mixer on high. It will begin to look sudsy very shortly.
When it looks spongey and foamy, I add my sugar.
Pour in sugar and beat on high again…we are going to go for soft peaks and I’ll show you what I mean by that.
Your whites will stop looking foamy and begin to be smooth and shiny like this.
See that peak in the meringue right around six o’clock? When you lift up your beater and it forms a peak that the tip just barely falls down on, thats a soft peak. A stiff peak could be when your point remains standing straight up. Some meringue recipes say to beat until stiff peaks form but I find that your meringue spreads prettier if you place it atop your dessert at the soft peak stage. This is just my personal preference. If stiff peaks make you happy, party on!
Place on top of your pie.
Spread it out a bit. Make sure your meringue touches the sides in all places.
You might want to pretty it up a bit by running the back of a spoon over it.
Bake in a 325 degree oven for fifteen minuts, or until top is golden. Allow to cool completely before cutting. I like to refrigerate mine and serve it cold.
Voila! Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie.
This is so much more delicious than store bought!
Lemon Meringue Pie
Crust
- 1 box vanilla wafers
- 6 T margarine
- 3 T sugar
Crush half of wafers (about 40). Stir in sugar. Add melted margarine and stir until well blended. Pat out into pie plate.
Filling
- 14-15 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
- 2 egg yolks
Mix all with electric mixer until well blended. Pour into crust. Top with Meringue.
Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- 1/4 C sugar
Whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar. Continue beating on high speed until soft peaks form. Pour onto top of pie and spread to edges to seal well. Bake at 325 for fifteen minutes or until top is golden. Allow to cool completely and refrigerate before serving, if desired.
Another great recipe to use this homemade meringue on: Homemade Banana Pudding, the first tutorial I ever did!
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My readers who follow me on Facebook were looking for this pie yesterday when I posted about taking it to Starbucks for our Mom’s coffee date last night! I often mention what I’m working up for Southern Plate on there so you’re likely to hear about things which are yet to be posted (and what my family is currently fixated on!). Feel free to friend me if you use Facebook, I’m always grateful for another chance to get to know the wonderful people who take time out of their busy days to read Southern Plate!
Gratefully,
Christy
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That’s a lovely pie! I tried making one last year and it didn’t turn out near as nice. I guess my meringue didn’t seal properly. Still, it tasted great! That recipe also had a cooked filling. Doing it uncooked does simplify things!
You know what, if it tastes good and doesn’t look quite as you wanted, I’d say your pie just has more character than most!!
Serve that sucker up and be proud, sister!
Gratefully,
Christy
Mmmm different from mine but looks delish, as always!
Thank you, Mary!!! I’d like a slice of yours with a nice cup of coffee, bet I’d be in heaven!
I always thought these were hard to make. Now I know after seeing this I can do it myself. You made it look so easy. Thank you!!!! The pie looks wonderful. I wish I had a piece of it right now.
Hey Tracy!! They are easy as pie! ~Giggle~
Now you know you can make anything you put your mind to!!
I wish you had a piece of it right now, too! I don’t think y’all understand how much it thrills me to feed people….I swear!
Gratefully,
Christy
I love the part about running over the wafers with the car!LOL!
~grins~
We gotta get our kicks somehow…
Guess what I’m making today? Thanks for the recipe!! I love the vanilla wafers around the edge. Wonder how a gingersnap crust would taste?
oh yum!! A gingersnap crust would be AWESOME!!! Please do let me know how it turns out, you have my mouth watering!
Lemon Meringue… drooooool… I wuv you lol.
hehe
You’d better!!
You were a topic of discussion last night at our Starbucks coffee date. One of the moms said “what is it you always call that Bill Gent guy?”.
I had to explain why I spell your name “Beeyuhll” on facebook. Once I pronounced it she caught on ~winks~
My best friend Jerry has called me “Beeyuhll” for years. Now my friends on Facebook started doing it too. I guess they saw you do it. Funny stuff!
According to my mom, there is a difference between lemon ice box and lemon meringue pies. I know her meringue pie did not have condncsed milk in it and the ice box pie didn’t have meringue on it. But…I’ve never made either and she is no longer with us…so I guess I’ll never know! Thanks for the recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Just wondering if it is safe to have the raw egg both in the filling and meringue as there is not much heat time applied. The results look lovelt but I am always safety conscious especially if feeding it to young ones.
I wouldn’t give it to small children, or children you know has egg allergies. We found out my daughter is allergic to eggs when she was a little shy of one year, and broke out in hives after having my mom’s lemon pie, which is pretty much this exact same recipe. Fortunately she doesn’t have an anaphylactic type reaction to eggs, but other children might.
Interesting fact about Salmonella: it is primarily found on the outer shells of eggs from the southeast United States.
Of course that means pretty much nothing here but I have always wanted to be able to use that fact somehow…
Risk of salmonella poisoning is very low but if you are concerned then you would want to avoid feeding anything with raw or not completely cooked eggs to young children, elderly people, or anyone with a compromised immunity.
You can also try baking the pie for ten minutes at 350 and then top with the meringue and bake again until golden. Another way to help get your meringue cooked is to beat it while it is in a double boiler, with boiling water underneath and then apply it to your pie.
Do I do any of this? Nope, I just fix it exactly as I did in this tutorial as my family has always done. My youngest is four and I’ve been letting her lick the cake batter bowl since she was two just like I did as a kid
.
However, you have to prepare it as you are most comfortable doing and just don’t worry about how I or anyone else does it. I bet you’ll make a lovely pie and everyone getting a piece is going to sing your praises!!
Gratefully,
Christy
You know, you really can use just about anything for crumb crusts! I made a crust once and was extremely low on crackers or nilla wafers. So I ended up incorporating some graham crackers, nilla wafers, Kix, and fortune cookies! It was a very yummy crust.
Lemon meringue is one of my favorite pies as well. Yours turned out so beautiful – and definitely better looking than storebought!
You are so right about it being a staple in the south! This lemon pie or versions of it, has been to countless family reunion, church dinners(on the grounds) etc.. for as long as I can remember.
Which is a long time by the way.
Great recipe!
Have a good day.
Pam
Hi
I remember a while ago reading how you used Splenda instead of sugar – I am going to make either this or the Lemon Chess Pie for Easter – my dad was just diagnosed with diabetes – can splenda be used?
Thank you for the help
~Christina
I’ve never made a meringue with Splenda but it should work in theory. The problem with the pie is that it has sweetened condensed milk so that would pretty much blow any hopes for regulated blood sugar, lol! I do wish there was a Splenda version of sweetened condensed milk but it is probably best that there is not as I’d no doubt stand around drinking it straight from the can all day!
My favorite dessert for Splenda is homemade banana pudding. I swear I can’t tell the difference!
Have you checked out my post specifically on desserts using Splenda?
http://www.southernplate.com/2009/01/the-lighter-side-of-southern.html
Also, if you email me I can send you my Grandmother’s recipe for Chocolate pie, which is FABULOUS with Splenda!
Gratefully,
Christy
There is nothing wrong with eating it straight from the can.
I know I do it……..
This is the same Lemon Merinngue pie recipe that my mom used when I was a kid growing up. I never never made it because I thought it would not be like hers, but yours looks just like hers. I guess simple is better.
Blessings
Pat Bailey-Steubenville,OH
Yay! This is *my* pie! Growing up, my Maw-maw would make chocolate pies just for my sister, and lemon pies just for me. I will definitely give this recipe a try … frankly, the whole meringue thing has always intimidated me, but this looks do-able!
To be fair to the grocery store lemon meringue pies – they really are a different pie than this version. In a traditional lemon meringue you cook the filling and it’s made with cornstarch, not sweetened condensed milk (the cornstarch is what gives it that clear look). Yours is definitely what we would call a lemon icebox pie up in the north. Yummy, yes…but not really a fair comparison to a traditional lemon meringue.
I’ve said my peace – BTW, I like this version better than traditional lemon meringue. It’s also similar to key lime (but with lemon, obviously).
You know whats funny? Our grocery store pies aren’t clear. I’ve never actually seen a lemon meringue pie around my neck of the woods with clear filling but have seen photos of them!
Regions are so different, it makes me want to travel around the country just to grocery shop and see what everyone else is eating!
This is the traditional pie for us, its been a staple for generations, but different folks have different traditions and they are all wonderful!!!!
Now you made me want a slice of key lime pie…..
And I have to taste the version you are talking about eventually, it doesn’t seem like it would be as creamy, is it?
No, they’re not really creamy but if its made right, it’s very tart. I guess I should clarify ‘clear’ as actually being a very glossy yellow color and almost gelatinous (did I spell that right?) – lol. Usually the market pies are too sugary, though. They’re also a staple in northern diners (I grew up in Jersey – home of the diner). I’ll take yours hands down any day!
Hey!
I was thinking the exact same thing you were thinking when we both said clear, lol. Kinda…well not milky but glossy and kinda gelatinous (I am spelling it like you do because I haven’t a clue either!).
You know the sad thing is that I can’t really eat a slice of lemon pie anymore because I can’t have the sugar. I did enjoy a bite of this pie, a single bite, but I savored it!
Really, its a very lucky thing for me that I can’t have sugar. With Southern Plate, I’d be big as the side of a barn!
I’ve never been to New Jersey, I am officially adding it to my list now! What types of things would you order for dinner in the diners there?
I do plan on visiting outside of the south one of these days!
Gratefully,
Christy
~hands you a piece of pie~
The cooked filling lemon pies that my mother and I have made use regular milk so that it does come out creamy, not clear like those icky things they sometimes sell in stores. This version is a bit of a short cut. It is similar to Key lime pie. I was researching Key lime pie recipes one time and read that they developed that recipe with condensed milk because fresh milk was hard to get in the Florida Keys. There’s not enough land for cows there, but enough for chickens. I don’t know if that’s true, but it sure is a good pie!
Oh my–my most favorite pie in the whole wide world!! My Ma-Maw used to make this for every holiday but when I got married she let me make them. I was so proud that she let me make one of her specialties–is that even spelled right?!! Thanks for the wonderful memories. I usually only make this at Christmas and Thanksgiving but it is on the Easter menu now.
Hi Christy,
Just like you I am from the South. I am from Mississippi. I love the Southern Plate. I can so relate to these recipes. I grew on most of all of them. I was wondering if you remembered home made Chocolate syrup or as some call chocolate gravy? My grandma use to make it for us every week-end. My mom made it for us also and I make it for my children too.
Thanks for your time Christy and keep the southern recipes alive!!
Darlene
A staple at our house in the summer
As far as the raw eggs, I always heard that the sugar would “cook” them. I am 51 and have not died from licking spoons and bowls.
How about a strawberry icebox pie recipe?
Christy,
I can’t wait to try your pie. I’ve been cheating and using the lemonade, condensed milk, and Cool Whip version. It’s poured into graham cracker shells and frozen. I made limeade for St. Patrick’s Day.
Speaking of banana pudding, I make mine with gingersnap cookies. Gives it a little spice.
Thanks for all you do!
That looks good. I love lemon pie, just not the meringue.
I’ve never made lemon pie from scratch. I didn’t know it was so easy! I will be trying this, this weekend!
Looks yummy and impressive!!!
Mmm it looks delicious. I never had lemon meringue pie in my life until about 3 years ago when I was in hospital after having my appendix removed. They would bring me morning and afternoon tea in addition to the regular meals (I tell you, I had the best time in hospital!) and one day the afternoon tea snack was little individual lemon meringue pies. It was so good!
And I haven’t had it since.
I’ll have to find something to replace your wafers in this recipe, the wafers we sell here look totally different. I’ll probably buzz you on FB to ask what you think is appropriate! hehe
Instead of making meringue on my pies, I like to use whipped cream. It tastes better to me. I also freeze leftover egg whites for future use.
HEY CHRISTY,
THIS IS MY DEAR MOM’S RECIPIE ALMOST EXACTLY. OF COURSE OUR SOUTHERN MOMS HAVE CERTAIN THINGS THEY INSIST ON. JACKSON’S VANILLA WAFFERS. FRESH LEMONS & SHE WOULD USE CREAM OF TARTER TO HELP HER MERINGUE SPEED ALONG. OH & ONLY EAGLE BRAND WOULD DO. I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE MY MOM BOSSING I MEAN GENTLY GUIDING ME THROUGH THE GROCERY STORE WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON SIZE, BRAND ECT. I COULD WRITE A BOOK.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR LIFE WITH US.
GOD BLESS YOU & YOURS
For those of you worried about using undercooked eggs http://www.safeeggs.com/consumers/store-locator.html has a listing of stores that carry Davidson’s pasteurized eggs. I have never used them before personally so I have no clue as to the cost or anything like that.
And Christy if we ever get together I will make you a lemon meringue pie with Splenda. The clear kind you’ve never had-scout’s honor.
Well,Christy as my grandkids always say,when my cooking is great,”Two Thumbs Up”!! It looks very good,and as looking at your web site and recipes,we have grown to expect,”The Best”!! I hope all this bad weather hasn’t hurt in your area,as it has in,the southern part.Have a “Wonderful Day”!! Jim-49
Hi,
My son saw me looking at this last week. He asked for it for his birthday cake (pie). Well, let me tell you, it is fantastic. I will admit to being a bit skeptical because of the raw egg yolks. but, it was delicious!
thank you for this great easy recipe!
You can pasteurize raw eggs at home for safety’s sake…it isn’t hard!! Here are the instructions!!
http://www.ehow.com/how_4679090_pasteurize-eggs-home.html
“Bring the eggs you plan to pasteurize to room temperature. Starting at room temperature makes sure that the eggs reach the target temperature for killing any salmonella in them all the way to the center.
Put the water into the pan and put it on the stove. Make sure to use a large enough pan so that the eggs will fit along with enough water to completely cover them.
Clip the thermometer onto the side of the pan so it will measure the temperature as it rises and is easy to read as you heat the water. Do not allow the thermometer to rest on the bottom of the pan.
Heat the water to between 145 and 160 degrees. Add the eggs to the water in the pan.
Remove the pan from the heat and allow to stand for 3 minutes. That’s all you have to do! Remove the eggs from the water and refrigerate. Use as you would any other eggs.”
Oh my – I just made this for our Easter dinner. It turned out wonderfully….I can’t wait to try it. I’ve always shied away from making a meringue pie because they seemed complicated – thanks for simplifying it!
I wondered if the nutritional info was available for this one?? Even us dieters like a treat now and then!!
*drool*
I had to call my Aunt Sara to see if this was her recipe. She is our official lemon pie maker. Yes, this is the best lemon pie ever. When asked if we want pie, it’s cut by the number of cookies you want. Usually large 3 cookie pieces are wanted by everyone. A few 2 cookies for those watching their weight. I might have to try this..
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