NOTE: I absolutely love France. Whenever I go there I have a minimum of “three pastries a day” rule. You don’t to France to go on a damn diet! This recipe takes about six to seven fresh lemons to complete, varying with the size of the lemons. Can you use margarine instead of butter? “HELL NO!” You think they would do that in France? Give me a break! OK, the one shortcut you can do, is skip making your own pie crust. Go to your grocery store freezer department, or use a rolled out one from the fresh dough department.
French Lemon Pie
Ingredients:
Pie Crust:
-1 cup all-purpose Flour
-1/4 teaspoon Salt
-6 tablespoons Butter
-3 tablespoons Cold Water
Filling:
-1 cup granulated Sugar
-5 tablespoons of Cornstarch
-1/4 teaspoon Salt
-½ cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
-½ cup Water
-3 egg Yolks
-1 ½ cups Boiling Water
-2 tablespoons Butter
-2 tablespoons Grated Lemon Rind
Instructions:
Pie crust:
Combine the flour and the salt. Cut in the butter by hand or with an electric mixer until coarse crumbs form. Add the water, and form the dough into a ball. Kneed the dough and place it in the refrigerator for an hour (if you don’t do this, the dough will shrink in the oven when you bake it).
Roll on lightly floured surface to an 11” circle, trim and crimp the edges.
Bake at 400 Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. (If you use a pre-made pie crust, follow their directions.) Cool completely.
Filling:
Combine the sugar, corn starch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Blend well.
Add the ½ cup lemon juice and the ½ cup of water. Stir the mixture until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Add the egg yolks and blend together well. Turn on the burner of your stove to medium high heat.
Slowly stir in the boiling water. Do not stop stirring.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat as soon as you feel it thicken up.
Stir in the butter, and the lemon rind. Immediately pour the thickened filling into the pre-baked pie shell.
As the pie is cooling off, slice lemons thin (remove the seeds), and arrange slices on top as a decorative garnish. (You can coat the lemon slices with sugar if you want a candied lemon peel effect.)
This pie can certainly be served at room temperature, but refrigerating it for an hour or more is preferred.
Ingredients:
Pie Crust:
-1 cup all-purpose Flour
-1/4 teaspoon Salt
-6 tablespoons Butter
-3 tablespoons Cold Water
Filling:
-1 cup granulated Sugar
-5 tablespoons of Cornstarch
-1/4 teaspoon Salt
-½ cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
-½ cup Water
-3 egg Yolks
-1 ½ cups Boiling Water
-2 tablespoons Butter
-2 tablespoons Grated Lemon Rind
Instructions:
Pie crust:
Combine the flour and the salt. Cut in the butter by hand or with an electric mixer until coarse crumbs form. Add the water, and form the dough into a ball. Kneed the dough and place it in the refrigerator for an hour (if you don’t do this, the dough will shrink in the oven when you bake it).
Roll on lightly floured surface to an 11” circle, trim and crimp the edges.
Bake at 400 Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. (If you use a pre-made pie crust, follow their directions.) Cool completely.
Filling:
Combine the sugar, corn starch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Blend well.
Add the ½ cup lemon juice and the ½ cup of water. Stir the mixture until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Add the egg yolks and blend together well. Turn on the burner of your stove to medium high heat.
Slowly stir in the boiling water. Do not stop stirring.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat as soon as you feel it thicken up.
Stir in the butter, and the lemon rind. Immediately pour the thickened filling into the pre-baked pie shell.
As the pie is cooling off, slice lemons thin (remove the seeds), and arrange slices on top as a decorative garnish. (You can coat the lemon slices with sugar if you want a candied lemon peel effect.)
This pie can certainly be served at room temperature, but refrigerating it for an hour or more is preferred.