Good evening and come in for a visit so I can tell you how foolish I feel. My sweet daughter in law brought me some lemons that they had grown on their tree and I decided to make a lemon meringue pie. My second thought was to start from scratch like I used to many long years ago so I began to search my cookbooks and finally found the one mama and I have used. I did cheat on the crust and bought one already made.

Now I can just hear my home ec teacher,Miss Leacy, telling me to read the recipe through, measure out my ingredients and then begin mixing. I did all of this but I guess I did speed reading for I began to sense a problem about 25 minutes into the process. Instead of finishing my pie, I was still stirring the custard over the hot water.

My pie shell was baked and set aside to cool. I mixed the dry ingredients, added 1/2 cup of the water and began stirring it over the hot water in a double boiler and 30 minutes later I was still stirring. It was not turning clear but was thickening a lot.

Thinking I may have a problem, I thought I should read the recipe again and realized I should have added the other 1 1/2 cups of water before beginning the cooking process. Well, I added the water and about 30 minutes later I had something which looked a little like lemon pie but it never did turn clear. By this time I was slap worn out and said the heck with it and tempered my eggs and added all the rest of the ingredients and poured into the pie shell.

Waiting for it to cool, I began to make the meringue which I have not done in umpteen years and had forgotten I needed to partially whip my whites before adding the sugar. I never did get the stiff peaks but got almost and slapped it on the pie and baked it.

Now all this frustration, and about 2 hours later, I had a pie which looked pretty good. We cut it later and it tastes pretty good but not the best. Another one will be baked next week for I am not going to let this beat me for I know I can do it. I have included the recipe for you to use for it is a good pie. Just remember to read it all the way through and don't cook until you have all the water added. The other lesson I learned is not to add the sugar to the whites until they are frothy and add a little at the time.


Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup lemon juice – fresh
1 tsp. Lemon zest
2 tablespoons butter
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
4 egg whites
6 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Separate the egg yolks from the whites and and place egg yolks in small bowl, whisk and set aside.

To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in ½ cup of the water. When well mixed and smooth add the remainder of the water which has been heated slightly. Cook over hot water stirring frequently, until mixture thickens and becomes clear. Add some of the hot mixture a small amount at a time to temper. Add about ½ cup very slowly.
Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture and add lemon juice and zest. Pour filling into baked pastry shell. Let cool before adding the meringue.

Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites
until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks
form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden.

I had better success with my cinnamon rolls this morning so I will share that with you also.

1 pkg. crescent rolls
2 tbsp. butter - softened
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
Optional- apple pie seasoning

I used the 8 roll package so double for the 12 pack.
Preheat oven to 350
Unfold the rolls and press seams to make a sheet of dough. Next time I am going to take a small rolling pin and roll it to seal the seams better and make it a little thinner.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and you can add more cinnamon or sugar to taste. I like cinnamon so I go kinda heavy on it.

Brush the soft butter over the dough and I use my hands to do it. You want a nice layer of softened butter so be liberal. If you need more than 2 Tbsp., use it. Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar over the butter and sprinkle with apple pie seasoning for a little extra flavor if you like.

Roll it up lengthwise, seal the seam, and cut into slices about 2 inches thick or more or less - depending on how big you want them. I bake mine in muffin tins to keep them rounded but you can use a parchment lined cookie sheet if you like. Takes about 15 - 20 minutes or until slightly brown.

Remove from oven, and brush tops liberally with more butter. You can make a glaze if you like with powdered sugar and milk but the butter was good.

These were really good, quick and easy.

That's about it for today and I hope you enjoy the recipes and happy cooking.

Ya'll come back to see me and be careful going home.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach