juice of 3 lemons
3 egg yolks
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. cream tartar
1/2 tsp. vanilla or lemon extract
3 egg whites

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Beat egg yolks with until light and lemony colored. Stir in fresh lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk. Beat well until thickened. Pour into pie shell.

Pie Shell:

Crush vanilla wafers for crust or use a store bought graham cracker crust.

Meringue:

Using clean beaters, beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar with Cream of Tartar. Add vanilla or lemon extract.

Beat for 1 minute and spread evenly over top of pie and touching the edge of the pie plate to avoid shrinkage of the meringue. You can draw peaked swirls in the meringue for a decorative effect, as the tops of the swirls will brown first.

Brown the meringue on the top shelf of the oven or under the broiler. Don't walk away!

When the swirls and tops of the meringue have browned, remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Refrigerate under a covered dish until ready to serve.