PIE CRUST

1. Before making the pie filling, make & bake your pie crust. (If using a store-bought crust, follow the package directions for pre-baking it). If using homemade pie dough, make sure the dough is cold. Roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle.  Transfer to a 9-inch pie dish. Don’t stretch the dough. Stretching the dough will cause shrinkage later. Gently pat the dough up and over the sides. Trim the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch over hang. Fold the dough under and crimp or flute the edges. Dock the bottom of the pie dough with a fork and place the pie dish in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
2. Meantime, preheat an oven to 425 degrees. Crumple up a large square of parchment paper, then un-crumple it. Place it in the bottom of the pie dish. Fill the dish with pie weights or beans. 
3. Place on an old cookie sheet or pizza stone on the lowest oven rack. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove the pie weights, and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. I like to use a glass pie dish so I can see when the sides are browning. Remove and let cool while you make the filling.

PIE FILLING

1. Whisk together the egg yolks in a large 2 cup measuring cup or bowl and set aside.
2. Whisk together the water, cornstarch, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. This shouldn’t take long. Set the pan off the heat.  Slowly pour about half of the hot mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. This is called tempering. Whisk vigorously for about 1 minute. Add the mixture back to the pan and return to medium heat. Bring back to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens again. Remove from heat. Add the butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix well.
3. Pour the filling into pre-baked pie shell. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the filling, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.  Click here  to see how to pre-bake a pie crust.

SWISS MERINGUE

1. Add the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar to a medium heatproof bowl, (or to the heatproof bowl of a stand mixer). Whisk to combine. Place the bowl over a medium pan of simmering water. Make sure water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
2. Whisk egg white mixture constantly for up to 3-4 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved, and the mixture reaches at least 160 degrees on a thermometer. Check to make sugar is completely dissolved by rubbing a small amount of the mixture between two fingers. If it feels smooth and no longer grainy or gritty, it’s dissolved. The temperature of 160 degrees is the safe temperature for eating raw egg whites, if you’re concerned about that, (I’m not). Add the vanilla.
3. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer, if you don’t already have it in the mixer bowl. Whisk mixture on low speed for a few seconds, gradually increasing speed to high. Whisk until mixture becomes stiff, and looks glossy and satiny. Peaks should stand on their own, when you hold the whisk in an upward position in your hand.
4. Scoop large dollops of the meringue onto the pie filling, piling them on top of one another. Using an offset spatula, spread the meringue to the very edge of the filling. The meringue should be touching the edge of the pie crust all the way around. This keeps the meringue from shrinking away from the edges. Once you seal the edges, use a spatula or the back of a spoon the level out the center and make decorative swoops in the meringue.
5. Use one of the 3 methods shown in the post above to toast the meringue.
6. To serve pie, use a hot dry knife to neatly cut through the meringue. Dip the knife in hot water, and dry it off between cuts.