Vicki's Lemon Pie

When I was still in school and living at home with my parents, my sister and me went on exchange abroad and our family also welcomed a lot of exchange students into our home. This was definitely one of my most enriching and exciting experiences, which, on a side note, obviously also opened my eyes to loads of new recipes and different styles of baking and cooking. So these Lemon Meringue Pies made their way to me through a lovely lady, Vicki, from Australia, with whom we had the pleasure of living for a while.
This weekend I searched for a special thing to make for girls night with three darlings that I got to know in the new city, where I live for almost half a year now. Well, and these pies, made in individual dishes, for less bickering over who gets the last piece, were just the perfect thing to gorge on with a good Cosmopolitan in your hand. By the way, crushed ice made by hammering on a block of ice with a rolling pin – totally works. So thank you Vicki, for sharing this recipe with me, and thank you to the three girls that made Friday night so much fun!

Ingredients

Cookie crust:
200g digestive or whole grain cookies
150g melted butter

Filling:
390ml sweetened condensed milk
3-4 egg yolks
zest and juice of 3 lemons

Meringue:
3-4 egg whites
pinch of salt
110g white caster sugar 

Make the cookie crust by grinding the cookies in a processor fairly fine and missing them with the butter. Press into a pie form. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until there are soft white peaks and slowly integrate the sugar. Than mix ingredients for the filling until thickened and pour it onto the pie crust. Spoon the meringue on top and put the pie in the oven at 175°C for around 15 minutes, until the meringue is golden and shiny. Let cool for 30 minutes and enjoy sweet and tangy softness on top buttery crumbs. Preferably with a drink in your hand. Yum.