Lemon Cranberry Meringue Pie

This Lemon Cranberry Meringue Pie Recipe is quite the showstopper, not to mention delicious! 3 layers of sweet and tart goodness make this pie everyone’s new favorite. Although there are a few steps, the actual cooking part is pretty easy and totally worth it.

As usual, I was flipping through my magazines for inspiration and landed on the Martha Stewart Lemon Cranberry Meringue photo. I knew I had to make this pie!! Lemon is at the top of my favorites list after making my first batch of Meyer Lemon Curd Cream Puffs. Now I try to find any excuse to use it in my cooking or baking. So, this recipe is inspired by Martha Stewart. I used Meyer lemons instead of regular, but, of course, both work just fine.

Ingredients for this Lemon Cranberry Pie

• pie crust (homemade or store-bought)
• 3 cups sugar
• ½ cup cornstarch
• salt
• 5 eggs, separated 
• 3/4 cup lemon juice and some lemon zest
• water
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 12 oz cranberries (1 bag)
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

How to make This Amazing Pie

This recipe has quite a few steps so read through the whole recipe at least once before starting.

1. You can use a store-bought crust or make your own. I decided to make my own when I made this for Thanksgiving dinner, but next time I might just buy one and skip that step 😉.
2. Make the LEMON PUDDING layer by whisking the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Add the egg yolks, lemon zest, and water and whisk until nice and smooth.
3. Turn on the heat to med-high and continue whisking until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and do not stop whisking. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice and butter pieces until everything is melted. Pour the lemon pudding into the prepared crust and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set.
4. While the lemon pudding is setting, make the CRANBERRY GELEE layer. Place the cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water in a saucepan. Turn on the heat to med-high and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and smash up the cranberries as you are stirring the mixture. Pour the mixture into a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl and gently press through.
5. Pour the cranberry gelee over the chilled lemon pudding to make your next layer. Gently spread all the way to the edges using a spatula. Place back in the fridge for at least another 30 minutes.
6. Now it’s MERINGUE time! In the bowl from your mixer, add the egg whites and sugar and whisk together (you can also use a regular glass or metal bowl if you are going to whip your meringue with a hand mixer).
7. Place the bowl over a pan with boiling water, but make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water, creating a double boiler effect. Whisk the egg whites and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot. Remove from the heat and place the bowl in the mixer stand. Whisk on low speed until foamy.
8. Add the cream of tartar and vanilla and increase the speed to medium-high. Whisk until you have nice stiff peaks and the meringue is glossy. This takes about 7-8 minutes.
9. Place the meringue on top of the cranberry layer, starting in the middle and spreading out lightly and evenly, leaving a gap before the edge of the pie to create a border. Using your kitchen torch (and being very careful) slowly brown the meringue all over until you get your desired look.

Steps you can do ahead of time.

I made this pie for Thanksgiving dinner so I made the crust and filling the day before and left in the fridge until the next day. As I mentioned, you can also use a pre-made crust and save even more time. Thanksgiving Day, I made the meringue and left the finished pie in the fridge until we were ready to eat. The leftovers were still good, but this pie is definitely at it’s best the day you make it.

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Meyer Lemon Cranberry Meringue Pie

This Lemon Cranberry Meringue Pie tastes as good as it looks. Three beautiful layers of sweet, tart and fluffy delicious pie!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cranberry recipe, lemon cranberry pie, lemon dessert recipe, lemon pie, meringue pie, meyer lemon pie, thanksgiving pie, thanksgiving recipe

Servings 1 9″ pie

Author EmilyFabulous

Equipment

• kitchen torch
• pie pan
• saucepan
• fine-mesh strainer
• whisk
• stand mixer or electric hand mixer

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust (homemade or store-bought)

Meyer Lemon Pudding

• 1⅓ cup sugar
• ⅓ cup cornstarch
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 large egg yolks (whites are needed for meringue so don't toss!)
• 2 tsp meyer lemon zest
• 1⅓ cup water
• ¾ cup meyer lemon juice
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Cranberry Gelee Filling

• 12 oz cranberries, rinsed (1 bag)
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 pinch salt
• ¾ cup water

Meringue

• 5 egg whites, room temp
• ¾ cups sugar
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Crust

• Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare a basic pie crust dough ahead of time (or buy it) and make sure it is nice and cold before rolling out and placing in the pie pan. I used a regular 9-inch pie pan or you could use a deep tart pan.
• Roll out the crust dough pretty thin and ensure it's big enough to fill your pan. Layout the crust over the pan and press it lightly into all sides. Cut off the excess dough so that you just have a nice flat side (no fancy crust decoration needed, trust me).
• Place parchment paper and pie weights on top of the crust and bake for 25 minutes. Remove weights and parchment paper and continue baking for 10-15 minutes longer until nice and brown. Remove and cool completely.

Meyer Lemon Pudding

• Place the sugar, cornstarch and salt into a saucepan and whisk together. Add the egg yolks, lemon zest and water and whisk together until nice and smooth. Turn on the heat to med-high and continue whisking until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and do not stop whisking! Remove from heat and whisk in lemon juice and butter pieces until everything is melted and beautifully smooth. Tired of whisking yet?
  
• Pour the lemon pudding into the cooled pie crust and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set.
  

Cranberry Gelee

• Place the cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water into a saucepan. Turn on the heat to med-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and smash up the cranberries as you are stirring.
  
• Pour the cranberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and gently press through. Discard the solids and the liquid will become your gelee.
  
• Pour the cranberry gelee over the chilled lemon pudding to make your next layer. Gently spread the gelee all the way to the edges using a spatula. Place the pie back into the fridge for at least another 30 minutes. You can let your pie set lightly covered overnight in the fridge and prepare the meringue the next day.
  

Meringue

• In the bowl from your mixer (or a metal or glass bowl if using a hand mixer), add the egg whites and sugar and whisk together. Place the bowl over a pan with boiling water, but make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water, creating a double boiler effect. Whisk the egg whites and sugar until the sugar has dissolved.
• Remove the bowl from the heat and place it in the mixer stand. Whisk on low speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and vanilla and increase the speed to medium-high. Whisk until you have nice stiff peaks and the meringue is glossy. This takes about 7-8 minutes.
• Place the meringue on top of the cranberry layer, starting in the middle and spreading out lightly and evenly, leaving a gap around the edge of the pie to create a border. Using your kitchen torch (and being very careful) slowly brown the meringue all over until you get your desired look.
  

Video

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Did you make this Meyer Lemon Cranberry Meringue Pie?

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