Classic Portuguese Lemon Meringue Pie

A delicious, quick-to-prepare lemon meringue pie featuring a crushed shortcake cookie crust, a rich condensed milk and lemon filling, and a fluffy toasted meringue topping.

Ingredients

• 200 g buttered cookies (shortcake)
• 80 g margarine
• 1 can condensed milk (370 g)
• 3 to 4 lemons (1 dl of juice plus outer zest)
• 5 eggs
• 150 g sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. Separate the egg yolks from the whites, and mix the yolks with the condensed milk.
3. Mash the shortcake cookies into a powder, mix with margarine, and press into the bottom and sides of a pie dish.
4. Zest and juice the lemons, then mix the zest and juice into the egg yolk and condensed milk mixture before pouring it into the pie dish.
5. Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, whip the egg whites until foamy, gradually add the sugar, and beat until a firm meringue forms.
7. Remove the pie from the oven temporarily, spoon dollops of meringue over the surface, reduce the oven temperature to 160°C, and return the pie to the oven until the meringue turns golden brown.