Low Sugar Lemon Meringue Pie (gluten free)

 Lemon Meringue pie isn't just for the big holidays. We like to make a pie every now and then, just to celebrate life in general. We made this pie on the last day of summer. I guess we were celebrating having had a pretty good summer. It wasn't the best ever thanks to the pandemic, but we survived and had some good times. This pie may have been one of the top 3 memories. It's SOOOOOOO good. 

Make it because it's Tuesday and "you got this". Make it because you want to make memories with your family, or because you got all the laundry done on time. Or maybe you have eaten clean for a month straight and you just need something delicious. Just make it!! Then, share it with someone. Don't eat the whole pie in one sitting. Each 1/8 of a pie piece will have 12 grams of sugar. 

Ok, so here are the ingredients for the crust. 

1 1/2 cups of almond meal (or you can do any other gluten free flour, but use less. Maybe 1 cup). Almond flour is good if you have it because it gives a similar texture to the graham cracker crusts. 

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 TBSP stevia or sugar

1/4 cup Earth balance butter or coconut oil

1 TBSP water

And here's the directions for the crust.....

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Whisk dry ingredients together, then add the oil and water. I do all of this in the pie plate to save a bowl from getting dirty. 
3. Mix until well combined and then press into bottom and sides of pie plate. 
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool for at least 15 minutes before filling it.

And here are the ingredients for the filling....

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup stevia powder. I use the one from Aldi

5 TBSP corn starch

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups water

the juice and zest of 2 lemons

2 TBSP Earth Balance butter

4 large egg yolks, beaten

a dash of vanilla

Directions for the filling.....

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt over medium high heat. 
3. Stir in water, lemon juice and zest. 
4. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil. 
5. Stir in butter. 
6. Place egg yolks in a seperate bowl and mix. Take the pan off the heating element. 
7. Spoon about a 1/2 cup of the sugar mixture into the egg yolks. Whisk to mix well then pour back into the sugar mixture pan and continue to stir. Put the pan back over the heating element. 
8. Bring it back to a boil, stirring constantly and cook for another 2 minutes or so, until it's well thickened. Add a dash of vanilla. 
9. Pour the mixture into the prebaked and cooled pie crust. Set pie aside while you make the meringue. 

Here are the meringue ingredients....

4 egg whites

2-3 TBSP stevia powder or erythritol

Directions for meringue.....

1. Whip egg whites until foamy. 
2. Add sweetener. 
3. Continue to beat for 3-5 minutes until stiff peaks form. 
4. Pour meringue mixture over the pie filling, sealing edges. 
5. Now bake the whole pie for 10-15 minutes until the tips of the meringue are light brown. 
6. Let cool completely before serving. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. 

ENJOY!!!