North Carolina Lemon Pie
Perfect combination of sweet, tart and salty.
Ingredients
- 5 oz. (about 50) saltine crackers
- 8 Tbls. butter, melted
- 3 Tbls. light corn syrup
- 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/4 c. heavy cream
- 1 Tbls. grated lemon zest (don’t skimp) - see Note below
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (3 lemons) - see Note below
Topping
- 3/4 c. heavy cream, chilled
- 3 t. sugar
- 3/4 t. vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust: Add saltine crackers to a food processor and pulse until you have coarse crumbs (about 15 pulses). Add the melted butter and corn syrup; pulse until the crumbs are about the size of oatmeal (another 15 pulses).
Add the cracker mixture to a greased 9-inch pie plate. Using the back of a spoon, press the crumbs into an even layer on the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees, until light golden brown (17 to 19 minutes).
Filling: Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, cream, and lemon zest together in a bowl; add the lemon juice and whisk until well combined.
With the pie plate still on the baking sheet, remove it from the oven and pour in the filling (the crust does not need to be cooled) and place it back in the hot oven.
Bake at 350 degrees until the edges of the pie are set but the center still jiggles, about 15 to 17 minutes.
Place the pie on a wire rack and let it cool completely. Refrigerate the pie until completely chilled.
Topping: Using a hand held mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, whip the cream, sugar and vanilla on medium low until foamy (about a minute). Increase the mixer speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form (1 to 3 minutes).
Spread the whipped cream over the top of the pie and serve cold.
NOTE: You can also use red grapefruit juice and zest in place of lemon. Lime juice and zest will also work.