i'd rather be baking

Somehow, this year, the blog has escaped my usual brand of winter citrus crazy. This doesn’t mean I didn’t go citrus crazy…you should see my refrigerator right now. There are two varieties each of oranges and grapefruits and at least one lingering lemon. It’s safe to say the fruit drawer is full! Which didn’t stop me from buying the world’s largest bag of local apples for $5 last weekend…but I digress.

Ryan wanted his Mama’s lemon icebox pie for his birthday. It’s a family recipe and I’d never made it before…and really never eaten it before, either! So we got on the phone and figured it out. Apparently I was a little too thorough in spreading and smoothing out the meringue on top, but other than that, it turned out perfectly. Super quick and delicious!

This tasty pie makes me hungrier still for spring and summer! It’s a lovely way to coax that warm-weather feeling into your home.

Lemon Icebox Pie

A few notes on this pie: traditional thinking holds that the acidity of lemon juice when mixed with raw egg yolks reduces the risk of salmonella, but this is certainly something to be aware of. This summer I plan to experiment with a slightly different version of this pie – I think that lemon curd mixed with sweetened condensed milk (and perhaps a bit of lemon juice to thin it out) would yield a similar result. Try this variation if you’re concerned about raw eggs!

Makes one 8-inch pie

one store-bought (or homemade) graham cracker crust
2 lemons, juiced
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons sugar
pinch of cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a medium bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk with egg yolks, stirring until blended. Add lemon juice and stir until well combined. Pour into pie crust and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, begin to whip egg whites until just frothy. Add cream of tartar and sugar, one teaspoon at a time, and continue to whip on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently spread atop pie.

Bake until meringue is just browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Serve at room temperature or chilled, and refrigerate leftovers.