Walnut Meringue Pie Food

THE BEST LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• For the pie crust: Pulse the flour, shortening, sugar, salt and vinegar in a food processor until the mixture looks like damp sand, about 10 pulses. Add the butter and pulse until you can still see large pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons ice water and pulse until the dough begins to come together. Pinch the dough; if it doesn't hold together, add up to 3 more tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together when pinched. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap and dump the dough onto the plastic. Using the edges of the plastic, press the dough into a disc. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and preferably overnight. (Freeze up to 2 months.)
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 13-inch round. Place in a 9-inch pie dish, gently pressing the dough into the edges and letting the excess dough drape over the sides. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Trim any excess dough with a paring knife and crimp the edges decoratively or press them down with the tines of a fork. Prick the dough on the bottom all over with a fork. Place a sheet of parchment paper inside the dough and fill with pie weights or uncooked rice or beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment and weights and bake until the crust is deep golden brown on the edges and lightly golden in the center, 10 to 12 minutes more. Let the crust cool to room temperature.
• For the filling: Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Add the lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups water and whisk to combine. Whisk the egg yolks in a separate medium bowl. Place the sugar mixture over medium heat and cook, continuing to gently whisk, until the mixture begins to bubble and is extremely thick. Temper the eggs yolks by slowly adding half of the hot sugar mixture to the yolks while constantly whisking. Add the tempered yolks to the saucepan and return to the heat. Bring the mixture back to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and lemon zest until completely melted and incorporated. Pour the filling directly into the pie crust and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the filling (see Cook's Note). Refrigerate while you make the meringue.
• For the meringue: Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment along with the sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Whisk together to combine. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture feels hot to the touch. Transfer the bowl to the mixer and add the vanilla. Whisk on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the pie and gently mound the meringue on top of the filling. Use an offset spatula to make sure the meringue completely covers the filling and meets the crust all around the edges. (This will seal in the filling and help prevent weeping.) Use the offset spatula to create swirls and peaks in the meringue. Toast the meringue using a kitchen torch or broil in the oven until golden brown, keeping an eye on the meringue if broiling, 1 to 2 minutes. Refrigerate the pie until the filling is completely cool and set, about 4 hours.

AUNT GRETA'S WALNUT MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Whip the egg white with a whip attachment until stiff.
• Add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt and continue whipping until stiff and glossy. Fold in the walnuts.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment lined sheet pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool and remove from the pan. Store in an airtight container.

WALNUT MERINGUE PIE CRUST WITH FRUIT FILLING

Steps:

• Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
• Add the salt and baking powder.
• Gradually beat in the sugar; continue beating until stiff and glossy.
• Add the vanilla extract.
• Lightly fold in the walnuts and cracker chunks.
• Spread the mixture over the bottom and sides of a well-greased pie plate; building up the sides.
• Bake at 325°F for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Just before serving, fill the center with the drained fruit.
• Serve the whipped cream on the side.

WALNUT FILLING

Steps:

• Cook walnuts with milk and flour.
• Mix well with the egg yolks.
• Cream butter with the sugar; add to the walnut mixture.

WALNUT PIE CRUST RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You will need one buttered, nine-inch deep-dish pie pan either a light-colored or glass pan.
• Place the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl and stir to combine.
• Place the nuts in a food processor or blender and pulse just long enough to chop the nuts finely, not into a paste. Scrape the nuts into the flour mixture and stir to combine.
• Add the melted butter and combine well.
• Press the mixture into the buttered pie pan making certain that the crust is of even thickness.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until it just starts to brown on the edges. Do not over bake. A light-colored or glass pan will absorb less heat than a dark one and help ensure against over baking.

MERINGUES, CHOCOLATE WALNUT

Steps:

• Directions
• 1. Preheat oven to 275°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• 2. In a medium, clean, grease-free bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and whip until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually, whipping until stiff but not dry peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by generously rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
• 3. Bake until completely firm and dry, but still white, about 25 minutes; you should be able to lift cookies from pan. Slide parchment onto racks to cool cookies completely.

MAPLE-PUMPKIN PIE WITH WALNUT CRUMBLE AND MAPLE MERINGUE IN GINGERBREAD CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Sift flour, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and allspice together in a large bowl. Cut in butter using your fingers, a pastry cutter, or a food processor until the crumbs resemble cornmeal. Drizzle water and molasses over crumbs, mixing with fingers, until the crumbs begin to cling together. Gather the dough and knead it into a ball. Press crust evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a pie pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove crust from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine pumpkin, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, ginger, salt, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves in a large mixing bowl. Pour in cream, eggs, syrup, and vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Pour maple-pumpkin filling into the baked pie crust.
• Bake in the lower third of the hot oven until center of the pie is almost set, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse until crumbly. Stir in chopped walnuts by hand. Set walnut crumble aside.
• Remove pie from the oven and top with walnut crumble. Return pie to the hot oven and continue baking until crisped, about 10 minutes more. Remove pie from oven and turn broiler on.
• Bring maple syrup to a boil in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Clip an instant-read thermometer onto the pan and watch for the syrup to reach 225 degrees F (110 degrees C).
• Place egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Start whipping at medium-high speed. Slowly sprinkle sugar into the whites and whip until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes.
• Check the syrup and when the temperature reaches 238 degrees F (114 degrees C), reduce the mixer speed to medium and carefully add the hot maple syrup by pouring it along the side of the bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and continue whipping until meringue is thick and shiny, an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
• Use a spatula to spread meringue over the entire pie all the way to the crust. Toast meringue under the hot broiler until lightly brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Serve chilled or at room temperature.

WALNUT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Press the nut mixture firmly into bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate.
• Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for about 10 minutes, or until the edge is golden brown. Cool.

WALNUT MERINGUE LAYERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment. Using a cake pan or a ruler, trace a 9-inch square on each piece of parchment.
• Whisk walnuts, 3/4 cup superfine sugar, the confectioners' sugar, and salt.
• With an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in walnut mixture with a spatula. Spread batter evenly onto traced squares on parchment, and smooth tops.
• Bake for 2 1/2 hours. Turn off oven, and let cool in oven until completely dry, about 75 minutes.
• Carefully peel meringue layers from parchment, and let cool completely on wire racks.