Lemon Meringue Pie Dip

I apologize for talking and talking and talking about this dip and making you wait to get the recipe.  Believe me you would have been more grumpy if I'd told you about the dip and didn't tell you how to get it from the bowl to your mouth.

This dip is the perfect summer dessert!  I mean, lemon meringue pie is pretty much summer in a crust and I like this even better.  Why?  Because I get to dip things in it.  I love dips!  Salsa, guacamole, spinach dip, ketchup (which is the ultimate dip) and who could forget the hot blueberry cheddar dip.  To get dip for dessert... that's just better than anything I can think of!

This dip is just like lemon meringue pie in that it has a base layer of lemon custard topped with meringue.  The lemon custard is pretty easy to make... cook egg yolks and lemon juice together.  Allow it to cool over an ice bath and whisk in sweetened condensed milk.

The meringue topping is comprised on egg whites whipped with sugar and a bit of cream of tartar.  That gets spread over the lemon custard and toasted in the oven.

There are some days I can't imagine life without my stand mixer.  Anytime I have to whip egg whites is one of those days.

In case you are wondering, the photo above is an example of what happens when you have meringue toasting in the oven and you get distracted.  I'm not surprised this happened, it's hereditary.  Just about every Thanksgiving when I was growing up someone burnt the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes (someone was my Mom... sorry Mom... but in your defense there were only 6,000 things happening at the same time and you were in charge of all of it because no one was helping you... before you readers get all judgey on me for not helping, I was the youngest kid and I did help eventually... just not in time to keep Mom burning the sweet potatoes from becoming a bit of a family tradition). 

Don't worry, you can just scrape off the burnt part and re-toast (this applies to meringue and marshmallows).

I was a huge fan of this dessert and my guests and CA liked it too.  The lemon custard is super tart and creamy and the meringue is light and fluffy.  Based on the feedback in the blog post for the inspiration recipe, I significantly increased the ratio of custard to meringue and I'm so glad I did.  The ratio here was perfect even if I did have to scrape off a bit of the meringue.

Plus, using pie crust to scoop this stuff up is just brilliant!


Lemon Meringue Pie Dip
Adapted from Something Swanky

Ingredients
8 Egg Yolks
3/4 cup Lemon Juice
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (I used fat free)
3 Egg Whites
3 T Sugar
Pinch of Cream of Tartar
2 store bought or homemade pie crusts
Sugar for sprinkling

Instructions
In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks and lemon juice over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until think and custard like, approximately 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool.  (You can speed this process up by putting it in a plastic baggie and placing that in an ice bath).  Once cooled, whisk in the sweetened condensed milk.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment whisk together the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar on high speed until it forms stiff peaks.

Preheat your broiler.

Add the egg and lemon mixture to an oven-safe serving bowl.  Top with the whipped egg whites.  Broil for 1-2 minutes until the meringue (egg whites) are lightly browned.  Refrigerate until cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out your pie crust and cut into 2"-3" triangles (or another shape if you prefer).  Place the triangles on a baking sheet, sprinkle them with sugar and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Use the baked pie crusts to dip into your lemon meringue pie dip.


Enjoy!
Julie