retroeva, this is the lemon icebox pie recipe that my paternal grandma used since before I was born (I'm 41). I thought she said she got the recipe from her mom . . .
1 box Nabisco-brand 'Nilla wafers
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 lg. eggs, separated
juice of 4 to 5 freshly-squeezed small to med. lemons, to equal somewhere between 1/2 C. and 3/4 C. juice (don't use bottled juice)
2 T. sugar
Crust: Place the vanilla wafers in a single layer on the bottom and up the sides of a glass pie pan. (Don't crumble or crush the cookies; leave them whole.)
Filling: Whisk together the can of sweetened condensed milk, the 2 egg yolks, and the lemon juice until well blended. Pour carefully on top of the vanilla wafers.
Meringue: Beat together the 2 egg whites and 2 T. sugar with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Pour on top of filling.
Bake at 300 - 325 degrees until the meringue is lightly browned. Cool at room temp for about half an hour, then chill for at least 4 hours. Tastes best when served cold. Store in the fridge.
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I've also made this using limes instead of lemons; delish!
The more juice you use, the more tart the filling will be. But there's a fine line there -- if you use too much juice, the filling will be runny. So I would say not more than 3/4 C. juice. Even 1/2 C. juice makes the filling tart.
If I was asked to bring only one dessert for holidays or other family get-togethers, hands-down this is the one my sibs and sibs-in-law would request.
I have, in the past, doubled the filling ingredients and not used a meringue topping, but that is REALLY jaw-locking
