Scintillating Lemon Pie Recipes

EASY LEMON PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Unroll crust into a 9-in. pie plate; flute edge. Refrigerate while preparing filling., In a bowl, mix sugar and flour until blended. Whisk in eggs, corn syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice and melted butter until blended. Pour into crust., Bake on a lower oven rack until filling is golden brown and thickened, 40-45 minutes; cover edge loosely with foil during the last 15 minutes if needed to prevent overbrowning. Remove foil; cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Refrigerate, covered, 2 hours or until cold., For whipped cream, in a bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Serve pie with whipped cream.

WORLD'S BEST LEMON PIE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually stir in water. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat. Gradually stir 1 cup of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to saucepan. Bring to boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter, lemon juice and zest until smooth. Pour into pastry shell. In a bowl, beat egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry peaks are formed. Gradually beat in sugar until soft peaks form. Spread over pie, sealing edges to pastry. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until meringue is golden. Cool. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

EASY LEMON PUDDING PIE

Steps:

• In a blender or food processor, place the graham crackers and process/blend until the crackers are all crumbs. Empty the crumbs into a medium sized bowl and stir in 1/4 cup white sugar.
• Soften the butter and combine with the crumb and sugar mixture.
• Spray a pie pan (I use a 9-inch) with nonstick spray and press the cookie crust evenly along the bottom and slightly up the sides. Place in freezer while preparing the filling.

GRANDMA'S LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
• To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

LEMON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line crust with aluminum foil; leave an overhang and fold over edge. Fill crust with dried beans, pie weights, or uncooked rice. Place crust on a baking sheet; bake until set and lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Remove foil (and beans). Bake without foil, 5 to 10 minutes more; if crust bubbles up, press down gently. Cool.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, sour cream, and salt; gradually whisk in lemon juice. Pour mixture into crust. Place on a baking sheet; bake until barely set (center of pie will still wiggle slightly), 25 to 35 minutes. Cool completely.
• Make topping: Place 2 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan, and sprinkle with gelatin; let soften about 5 minutes. Heat mixture over very low heat, stirring, until gelatin dissolves. Let cool.
• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream and sugar until very soft peaks form. While beating, slowly add gelatin mixture, and continue beating until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, spread over cooled pie. Refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 1 hour or, loosely covered, up to 1 day.

CREAMY LEMON PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
• Using a food processor, pulse the graham crackers and almonds together into crumbs. A few larger pieces of nuts is OK. Pour into a medium bowl and stir in the sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch pie dish. With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom and up the sides to make a compact crust. Do not pack down with heavy force because that makes the crust too hard. Simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumby/crumbly. Tips: You can use a small flat-bottomed measuring cup to help press down the bottom crust and smooth out the surface, but do not pack down too hard. And run a spoon around the bottom "corner" where the edge and bottom meet to help make a rounded crust⁠-this helps prevent the crust from falling apart. For more shaping technique tips, see the graham cracker crust recipe page.
• Pre-bake crust for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave the oven on.
• Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and egg yolks together. Pour into warm crust.
• Bake the pie for 19-21 minutes or until only *slightly* jiggly in the center. You want it mostly set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, cover and chill for at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days) before serving.
• Garnish as desired. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

AUNT TOOTSIE'S LEMON MERINGUE PIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Place crust in 9-inch pie plate.
• Partially blind bake the crust: poke holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with dried beans or pie weights (dried rice and lentils work too). If you're using my pie crust recipe, bake about 20 minutes, checking that the crust is browned (but the bottom won't be completely done yet, that's ok). If you're using a Pillsbury crust, it'll only take about 10 minutes to partially bake. Carefully remove parchment and pie weights.
• Lower oven temperature to 300°F.
• Whisk water, sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, until it's thick and bubbly.
• Place egg yolks into a medium sized bowl. Whisk them gently. Once the lemon mixture is thick and bubbly, carefully pour about half the lemon mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then place the egg mixture back into the pan with the remaining lemon mixture, continuing to whisk. You want to avoid scrambling the eggs. Bring to a gentle boil, then cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the butter until melted.
• Strain the mixture to remove any bits of egg. Pour mixture into the prepared pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap while you prepare the meringue and keep it hot (the meringue needs to go onto hot filling).
• Place egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or you can use a large bowl with a hand mixer). Beat on high speed until soft peaks form (if you remove the beaters the tips curl slightly) and then continue mixing while gradually adding the granulated sugar. Continue mixing until stiff peaks form (they'll be glossy and stand straight).
• Spread the meringue on the top of the lemon mixture in decorative peaks, being sure that the meringue touches the crust and no lemon shows through. Bake about 30 minutes or until the meringue is browned. Cool at room temperature for one hour, then chill at least 5 hours before slicing.
• The pie will last a day or two in the refrigerator but tastes better day one.

GRAMMY'S LEMON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the crust according to my Darn Good Whole Wheat Pie Crust recipe, either halving the recipe (it yields enough for 2 crusts) or freezing the second crust for a later time. (I recommend making the recipe as written and freezing the second crust. It will be great to have on hand and you are going to the effort anyway, so you might as well enjoy twice the crust!)
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out the pie crust, then fit into a 9-inch wide pie plate that is 1 1/2 to 2-inches deep. Trim any overhang, then crimp the crust edges as desired. Line the crust with aluminum foil or parchment paper so that the foil/paper comes all the way up the sides of the dish and fits against the sides and bottom snugly. Fill the dish with dried beans or pie weights. Place in the preheated oven and bake until the edges are barely beginning to turn golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the foil/paper and weights, then return the crust to the oven and continue baking until the bottom looks dry and lightly golden and the edges have browned, about 5 to 8 additional minutes. The bottom of the crust will puff a little as it bakes, but it will deflate again once removed from the oven. Let cool completely.
• Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water to create a double boiler. Add the eggs into the bowl, then with a hand mixer on medium speed (or a whisk and some serious arm power), beat the eggs until thick and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes if using a mixer. With the mixer running, slowly add the sugar, then the lemon juice and lemon zest. Once incorporated, switch from a mixer (or whisk) to a rubber spatula. Continue to cook the mixture over the simmering water, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the bowl with your spatula, until it forms a thick, smooth custard, about 8 additional minutes. When you dip your spatula into the custard, the custard should easily coat the spatula's back, and if you draw a line through the custard on the back of the spatula with your finger, the sides of the custard should stay separated. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool to almost room temperature.
• In a large mixing bowl or a standing mixer fit with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until it is completely soft and smooth, about 3 full minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium, then gradually add the cooled lemon custard to the cream cheese, beating until smooth and fully combined so that no white streaks remain. Pour the cream cheese into the baked pastry shell. Refrigerate the pie until fully chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Up to 4 hours before serving, prepare the homemade whipped cream: In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment over medium speed. When it starts to thicken, add the powdered sugar and vanilla, increase the mixer speed to high, and continue to beat until soft peaks form. (Do not overbeat or the cream will separate.) Spread over the chilled pie, slice, and serve cold.

SCINTILLATING LEMON PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Roll out 1/2 of the dough into 9-inch circle; Cut into 6 wedges; Place wedges on cookie sheet.
• Mix 1 1/2 T sugar and nutmeg together in small bowl; Sprinkle over pastry wedges; Bake at 400 degrees for no longer than 5 minutes, or until set; Remove from cookie sheet and set aside.
• Grate yellow part of rind; Peel and slice lemons very thinly; Set aside.
• Cream butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and flour in mixer bowl; Beat in eggs, then beat in water.
• Stir in reserved lemon slices and grated rind.
• Roll out remaining pastry to form 9-inch pie shell.
• Pour lemon mixture into prepared pie shell.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
• Arrange baked pastry wedges on top of filling and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until filling is firm.

NO BAKE LEMON PIE

Steps:

• Lightly spray a 8" - 9.5" pie pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
• Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press the crumb mixture into the prepared pie pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to really press the crust down. Chill pie crust for at least 30 minutes before filling.
• In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.
• Add pudding mix and beat well until creamy and combined.
• Add cold milk, beating in increments until creamy, thick and smooth. (Take short breaks between your mixing, 2 to 3 times, to allow the pudding to thicken.)
• Beat in lemon zest. Pour mixture into prepared pie shell.
• Chill for at least 3 hours. The pie will set up firmly during this time.
• In a large cold bowl, whip heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add in sugar and extract and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
• Spread whipped cream on top of chilled pie.
• Top with additional lemon zest.
• Garnish with lemons, mint, and raspberries before serving, if desired