Lemon Chess Pie

Another favorite from Southern Plate. This pie makes me think of summer, and summer is something we're definitely in need of in Alaska. When I made it, I didn't have lemons, just a bottle of lemon juice, so I didn't add the lemon zest. We thought it was fine without it. And I love that even though you have to separate the eggs, you're not just using the yolks, or just the whites. I hate throwing them away or trying to find some way to use them up quickly in another recipe. It's nice to avoid the problem altogether.

 I have to ask you to forgive the picture again. I baked it for an extra 5 minutes, trying to get it to set in the oven (which it never did), so the top is browner than I'd like. I'm not sure what the problem is. Partially my horrid oven, but since I used RealLemon juice, I had to do 8 Tbsp to get it close to 2 large lemons, so the filling seemed too liquidy anyway. Guess it's another one to experiment with (I think this happened last time I made it), but it's still delicious! Even though it didn't set in the oven, it did set more after sitting on the counter for an hour, and after chilling in the fridge, it was just right.

Printable Recipe

Lemon Chess Pie

from Southern Plate

1 cup sugar

4 Tbsp. butter

Grated rind and juice of two large or three small lemons

4 eggs, separated (Separate carefully--there can't be any yolk in the whites, or they won't foam up well.)

1 deep-dish pie crust (baked)


Cream sugar with butter until light and fluffy.

Beat in egg yolks.
 
Add grated lemon rind and juice, beat in.
 
Beat egg whites in a separate bowl (with clean beaters) until stiff. (Egg whites at room temperature will foam more quickly than egg whites that have just been taken out of the refrigerator.)

Gently fold whites into lemon mixture.

Pour into pie shell and bake at 350 until set and light, about twenty five to thirty minutes.

Makes 8 servings.