• Preheat the oven to 350℉. To begin, gather all your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand.

Prepare the Ingredients

• Using a fine edge grater, zest the lemon.
• Using a chef’s knife or Santoku knife on a cutting board, slice the lemons in half. With a lemon squeezer or a glass juicer, squeeze lemon juice into a glass measuring cup or bowl. You will want 1/2 cup juice.
• Carefully separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, placing egg whites in a large mixing bowl. (Be sure not to get any yolk in with the whites, or it will be keep your egg whites from stiffening.)
• If your kitchen is overly warm, go ahead and place egg whites in the refrigerator to keep them cold.

Make the Pastry Dough

• In a medium bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour and salt. Using a blending fork, cut in the vegetable shortening.
• Add water in two parts, mixing until ingredients form a nice dough. Divide in half.
• Using a rolling pin, roll out on a floured surface big enough to fit pie pan.
• For this recipe crimp edges and poke tiny holes all around with fork. Blind bake pastry by lining crust with a sheet of crumpled waxed paper and then filling it with 2 cups of dried beans. Bake on lowest rack in oven for 20 minutes with beans. Remove beans and paper and bake for another 15-17 minutes until lightly brown.
• (Baking with the dried beans will keep your crust from shrinking, and baking on the lowest rack will ensure that your crust is fully baked before adding your filling to it.)

Prepare the Lemon Filling

• In a medium saucepan, whisk together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, water, lemon juice, butter, lemon zest, and salt. Heat on medium high heat until the butter begins to melt, for just a few minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together egg yolks, 1/4 cup remaining granulated sugar, and cornstarch. Temper yolks with a 1/2 cup of the warm juice, slowly whisking until it thins.
• Add yolk mixture to saucepan and cook on medium-low heat for 2-4 minutes until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside while you make the meringue.

Make the Meringue

• Once you’ve blind baked the crust and the lemon filling is made, it’s time to prepare the meringue. Using the large mixing bowl that have the egg whites in them, add in cream of tartar, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat together on medium speed for one minute.
• Gradually add granulated sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating on high for about 4 minutes. Mixture should form stiff glossy peaks.
• (Sometimes humidity in the air will effect the results of your meringue, causing it to be somewhat flat. If you’re experiencing high humidity, try refrigerating your egg whites to keep them cold until just before using.)

Assemble the Pie

• To assemble the pie, spoon the lemon filling into the baked pie crust.
• Top the filling with the meringue, carefully spreading to the edges of the pie so that the meringue touches the crust. I like to take my fork and gently tap around the top of the meringue to form peaks.
• Bake at 350℉ for 10 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned.
• Allow the pie to cool for at least 6-8 hours before serving to ensure that the filling has set properly. Serves 8-10.