Lemony Pie with Brown Sugar Meringue

Lemony pie with brown sugar meringue puts a Southern chess-pie spin on the classic lemon meringue. Cornmeal stands in for some of the flour as a thickener, giving the lemon custard a barely-there grittiness that’s the hallmark of true chess pies. The result is denser and more rustic than the silky stovetop curd in standard meringue pies.

The smart twist is the meringue itself. Swapping white sugar for brown sugar gives a caramel-amber color and adds molasses notes that complement the bright tart filling. It’s a flavor pairing that reads like lemon bars meeting the holiday cookie tin.

The filling and meringue both bake in the same pie. The lower 350°F (175°C) bake sets the custard first, then a 400°F (205°C) burst browns the meringue.

Pro Tips

• Whisk the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, zest, cornmeal) together first, then add the wet. This prevents lumps in the finished filling.
• Use room temperature egg whites for the meringue. Cold whites take twice as long to whip and never hit the same volume.
• Add brown sugar slowly, just 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, beating well between additions. Brown sugar dissolves more slowly than white, and dumping it in deflates the foam.
• Spread the meringue onto the hot pie filling, not a cooled one. The heat from below cooks the bottom of the meringue and prevents weeping.
• Watch the meringue closely during the 8-minute high-heat finish. It goes from golden to burned fast at 400°F (205°C).

Variations

• Add 1 tablespoon of grated orange zest to the filling alongside the lemon for a citrus blend.
• Use yellow cornmeal for a more golden filling color, or stone-ground for extra texture.
• Stir 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract into the meringue to round out the brown sugar flavor.