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    Home » Recipes » Cakes, biscuits and dessert recipes

    Easy Lemon Meringue Pie - with a cookie crumb crust

    Published: Jul 29, 2020 · Modified: Jun 16, 2024 by VJ · This post may contain affiliate links · 8 Comments

    Jump to recipe

    Question - What can you make in half an hour using only 6 ingredients? Answer - A perfect lemon meringue pie. Smooth tangy lemon filling, in a buttery, crunchy, cookie-crumb crust, topped with a creamy pillow-soft meringue. What are you waiting for? Let's get baking!!!

    A slice of lemon meringue pie on a plate.
    Jump to:
    • Easy lemon meringue pie
    • How to make a lemon meringue pie
    • Can I make this in advance?
    • Can I make this with a pastry crust?
    • Save for later
    • Similar desserts
    • 📋The recipe

    Easy lemon meringue pie

    Some recipes just stand the test of time, and this easy lemon meringue pie is one of them. This recipe was given to me by one of my friends from South Africa, who's been making it for years. Believe me, this is a delicious recipe that is so easy to make and it never fails.

    This recipe uses crushed cookies mixed with butter to form the perfect crust for the tangy creamy lemon filling. If you prefer, you can make a lemon meringue pie with shortcrust pastry, and I've included the instructions on how to do this further down the post.

    The filling is made with a tin of condensed milk, flavoured with juice and zest of fresh lemons, which cuts through the sweetness of the milk, and gives a fresh tangy lemony taste. The lemons also help to thicken the filling. When you mix the lemon juice into the filling, something magical happens. The filling turns from a thin runny mixture into a thick, creamy filling, right before your eyes.

    And finally, the topping. What can I say about the cloud-soft meringue, slightly sweet, and beautifully browned from the oven? This dessert really is heaven on a plate.

    How to make a lemon meringue pie

    You can get the complete recipe and full instructions for making this easy lemon meringue pie on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

    To make the lemon meringue pie you will need an 8" or 9" round pie dish. If you use an 8" dish, the pie will be a little deeper. I used a 9" dish because that was all I had.

    Make the pie crust

    This pie crust is made with crushed biscuits and butter.

    If you prefer to make a proper pastry crust you can follow these instructions for how to make a pastry crust below.

    You will need 1 x 200g packet of Nice biscuits. South African readers may prefer to use Tennis biscuits, and US readers will probably want to use Graham crackers. It doesn't really matter. If you can get hold of a packet of Biscoff biscuits, you could use those too. They would give the crust a lovely caramel flavour.

    Collage of three images showing the steps for making the biscuit crust for the lemon meringue pie.

    Start by crushing the cookies into fine breadcrumbs (image1 above). I used my food processor, but if you don't have one you can just put the cookies into a plastic bag and bang them with a rolling pin. Try to get them as fine as possible, but don't worry if you still have a few largish crumbs - they will soften once you mix them with the butter. Tip the crumbs into a mixing bowl.

    Now melt the butter in the microwave (or in a pan on low heat on the stove) and pour the melted butter into the cookie crumbs. Use a flat-bladed knife to mix the crumbs with the butter (image 2 above). Make sure all the crumbs get coated with the butter.

    If you prefer a sweeter crust mix 1 tablespoon of sugar into the crumb and butter mixture before pressing into the pie dish. I don't think it needs any extra sugar. The biscuits are sweet enough.

    Press the crumb mixture evenly over the base and around the sides of an 8" or 9" pie dish (image 3 above). You don't need to grease the pie dish as there is enough butter in the crumb mixture to prevent the crust from sticking to the dish. Ensure the crumbs are evenly spread and well pressed onto the base and sides.

    Make the lemon filling

    Now that you have the perfect base for your lemon meringue pie, you can turn your attention to the filling. The filling is made by whisking egg yolks into a can of condensed milk and thickening it with lemon juice.

    Collage of 3 images showing steps for making the lemon filling, and pouring it into the crust.

    Separate the eggs and put the yolks in a mixing bowl. Put the whites in another large bowl. Be careful not to break the yolk and let any get into the egg white. If you get even the tiniest bit of egg yolk in the egg white the whites will not thicken, no matter how long you beat them.

    Pour the condensed milk into the bowl with the egg yolks and beat until combined (image 1 above).

    Grate the yellow zest from the lemon. Then squeeze the juice from the lemon and add the juice and the zest into the mixture. If you want a sharper lemon flavour you can use the juice and zest of 2 lemons.

    Mix to combine the lemon. You will find that the mixture will thicken immediately (image 2 above).

    Pour the thickened lemon mixture into the prepared pie crust (image 3 above) and set aside.

    Make the meringue topping and bake

    Collage of three images showing the meringue topping being added to the pie and browned in the oven.

    For the final step, you need to make the meringue to smooth over the pie.

    Take the egg whites and whisk them until they become frothy. Add the icing sugar / confectioner's sugar and continue to whisk until the mixture is thick enough to remain in the bowl if you turn the bowl upside down (image 1 above). If you have an electric hand mixer this will be an easy job. If you don't have an electric hand mixer you can use a balloon whisk, but it will take longer to get the meringue to the right consistency.

    Spread the thickened meringue over the lemon filling in the pie case. Make sure you cover the filling entirely. Fluff the top of the meringue with a fork to form peaks on top (image 2 above).

    Bake in a preheated oven at 180C / 350F until the meringue is golden brown (image 3 above). This should not take longer than 15 minutes. But keep your eye on it. You don't want the meringue to burn.

    Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Then place the lemon meringue pie in the refrigerator to chill, and serve cold.

    If you'd like to be notified of new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter? To say thank you, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.

    Can I make this in advance?

    You can make the lemon meringue pie and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. After that the crust will become soggy and the lemon filling will start to leak.

    Can I make this with a pastry crust?

    If you would prefer making this lemon meringue pie with a pastry crust instead of a cookie crumb crust, use the pastry recipe from my coconut meringue jam tarts. This link will take you directly to the recipe for the pastry.

    Instead of making a crumb crust, make up a batch of pastry and use it to line your pie dish.

    Because this recipe does not have much time in the oven, you should blind-bake the pastry before filling it with the lemon mixture. This is how you blind bake a pastry case:

    • Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Note this is higher than the temperature used for baking the pie, so do remember to turn the oven down and let it return to temperature before baking the assembled lemon meringue pie.
    • Make the pastry and use it to line your pie dish.
    • Prick the bottom of the pastry case with a fork - this will allow any air trapped under the pastry case to escape and prevent the case from lifting as it bakes.
    • Cover the base of the pastry case with a layer of baking parchment and then fill the pastry case with baking beans. You can use normal dried beans or even dried peas or rice if you don't have baking beans. You will need something heavy to ensure the base of the pastry case stays flat as it is blind-baked.
    • Place in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes until the edges of the pastry case are starting to get a little colour.
    • Remove from the oven and allow to cool before using.
    • Continue with the rest of the recipe steps from how to make the lemon filling (and don't forget to turn the oven down to 18C/350F 🙂 )

    Save for later

    Why not pin this lemon meringue pie recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below.

    Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

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    📋The recipe

    A slice of lemon meringue pie on a plate.

    Easy lemon meringue pie

    Question – What can you make in half an hour using only 6 ingredients? Answer – A perfect lemon meringue pie. Smooth tangy lemon filling, in a buttery, crunchy, cookie crumb crust, topped with a creamy pillow-soft meringue. What are you waiting for? Let’s get baking!!!
    Recipe by: Veronica
    Dessert
    American, British
    Calories 188
    Prep 15 minutes minutes
    Cook 15 minutes minutes
    Total Time 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 1 8" or 9" pie
    Print Pin Comment Bookmark Saved!
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    5 from 7 votes

    (Click the stars to rate this recipe)

    Equipment

    • Mixing Bowls
    • Electric hand mixer or balloon whisk
    • 8" or 9" round pie dish (20cm or 23cm)

    Ingredients

    • 7 ounce (200g) Nice biscuits or Graham crackers, Biscoff biscuits, Tennis biscuits
    • 4 ounce (100g) Butter melted
    • 1 tablespoon sugar optional
    • 4 ounce (397g) can condensed milk
    • 1 -2 medium lemons use one or two to taste
    • 2 large eggs separated
    • 1 tablespoon icing sugar / confectioner's sugar

    Instructions

    • Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F

    Cookie crumb crust

    • Crush the biscuits/cookies into fine crumbs
    • Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove top
    • Mix the butter with the biscuits/cookies and optionally mix in the sugar
    • Press the mixture into an 8" or 9" pie dish, making sure to press down firmly, and coat both the base and sides. Set aside while you make the filling.

    Lemon meringue filling

    • Separate the egg yolks and place the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another.
    • Pour the condensed milk into the egg yolks and mix through.
    • Zest the lemon(s) and squeeze out the juice.
    • Add the juice and zest of the lemons and mix. The mixture will thicken.
    • Pour the mixture into the prepared crumb case.

    Meringue topping

    • Whisk the egg whites until frothy then add the icing sugar / confectioner's sugar.
    • Continue whisking until the egg whites remain in the bowl when the bowl is turned upside down.
    • Spread the meringue mixture over the lemon filling, taking care to cover the lemon completely. Fluff the top of the meringue with a fork to form peaks.
    • Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes, only until the meringue had turned golden brown. Be careful not to allow the meringue to burn.
    • Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then store in the refrigerator. Serve chilled.

    Notes

    If you prefer a pastry case instead of a cookie crumb case, see the instructions for making pastry in the body of the post.
    Calories are based on the pie being cut into 12 slices

    Nutrition

    Calories - 188kcal | Carbohydrates - 20.2g | Protein - 3.1g | Fat - 11g | Saturated Fat - 5g | Cholesterol - 55mg | Sodium - 178mg | Potassium - 80mg | Fiber - 0.7g | Sugar - 12.2g | Calcium - 39mg | Iron - 1mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

    Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
    All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
    Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I'd love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
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    About VJ

    Before I started my food blog I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, mostly made from scratch, using everyday pantry ingredients.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 7 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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    1. Desiree Arnott

      June 14, 2023 at 11:05 pm

      Love your page, will start with trying your recipes

      Reply
      • VJ

        June 15, 2023 at 4:28 pm

        Good to hear - hope you enjoy then!

        Reply
    2. Melanie

      June 09, 2022 at 9:36 am

      5 stars
      I have found my "grandmother's" lemon Merinque recipe!! What a winner, thank you so much for sharing. Tennis biscuits is the secret to a fab foundation. Fab-u-licious

      Reply
      • VJ

        June 09, 2022 at 2:33 pm

        Thank you - glad you like it 🙂

        Reply
    3. Ursula Loots

      August 31, 2021 at 11:55 pm

      5 stars
      The best Lemon Meringue ever!

      Reply
      • VJ

        September 01, 2021 at 6:50 am

        What a lovely comment - thank you. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    4. Michelle

      August 22, 2021 at 1:35 pm

      5 stars
      Tried the Lemon Meringue Tart, was really delicious, will definitely try more of your recipes

      Reply
      • VJ

        August 22, 2021 at 4:50 pm

        Thank you - I hope you enjoy my other recipes too!

        Reply

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