Mile High Lemon Pie
Description
Well, it would be a mile high if you topped it with meringue, but that’s not how I like it. I ‘ordered’ this for my birthday dinner (Mom still asks us what we want – it’s so great!), and since I’ve never actually made one before, I decided to try one for my mother-in-law (lemon is her favorite flavor), for Mother’s Day. This recipe originates from Deanna, and while I’m sure you could use a regular pastry crust (baked), I always preferred my lemon pie with a graham wafer crust. I used this one, and at Mom’s suggestion, I kept about a third of a cup of the crust mixture out to sprinkle on the top of the pie. I also did this one lactose-free, and while I already know that it tastes good, I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see if it set properly! Enjoy!
Ingredients
Mile High Lemon Pie
1 1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. cornstarch
zest from one lemon (about 1 T.)
1 2/3 c. water
4 egg yolks
2/3 c. fresh lemon juice
2 T. butter, softened
Instructions
In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and zest and then whisk in the water. Whisk constantly over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to boil and visibly and physically thickens up. Make sure that it boils but do not overcook! This could break it down and then you’ll have pudding instead of pie. Remove the pot from the heat.
In a separate small bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg yolks for a couple of minutes until they are thick and light yellow, then stir in about a cup of the hot sugar mixture.
Return the yolk mixture back to the sauce pan and cook and stir over low heat until this new mixture thickens again – do not let it boil! Mom said that hers got so thick that it didn’t really whisk anymore, I didn’t think that mine was quite that thick, but it definitely thickened.
Remove the pot from the heat again and stir in the lemon juice and butter, then pour your lemon pie filling into the prepared, baked and cooled pie shell. Let the pie cool and set for about 3 hours.
- Category: Pie, Lemon
