I have had this recipe sitting idly by for a few weeks now just waiting for me to have the time to make it, and I finally got to it. I really don’t know why it took me so long to get around to it. The recipe itself is not very hard and it only takes minutes to put everything together. This recipe, for the classic lemon icebox pie, is from Cook’s Country magazine. If you have never had it before, it is very similar to a key lime pie, with of course lemons substituting for the key limes. I have seen lots of recipes out there  for this pie, but this one seems the easiest and the results are quite good.

Lemon Icebox Pie

9 whole graham crackers, broken into 1-inch pieces

3 tablespoons sugar

5 tablespoons butter, melted

2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

3 large egg yolks

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 5 to 6 lemons)

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Process the graham crackers and the sugar in a food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add the melted butter and pulse until combined, about 8 pulses. Transfer the crumbs to a 9-inch pie plate. Using the bottom of a measuring cup, press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the plate. Bake until the crust is fragrant and just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Let the crust cool completely on a wire rack, about 35 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Reserve 3 tablespoons of the sweetened condensed milk. Whisk the remaining sweetened condensed milk and the egg yolks together in a bowl until they are smooth. Slowly whisk in the lemon juice. Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust. Bake the pie until the edges are beginning to set but the center of the pie still jiggles when shaken, about 15 minutes. Let the pie cool for 1 hour on a wire rack. Refrigerate the pie until it is chilled and set, at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.

Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, whip the heavy cream, reserved sweetened condensed milk and the vanilla extract on medium-low speed until it is foamy, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, about 1 to 3 minutes. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the top of the pie and serve.

I really liked this pie. It was really easy to make and the taste is so refreshing and wonderful. Michelle and I both agreed maybe it could use a smidge more lemon juice for the lemon flavor to really shine, but I had a piece the next day and the flavor seemed even better, so it’s really up to your own personal tastes. You can save yourself even more time and simply buy a pre-made graham cracker crust to use for the pie and really cut your preparation time down to nothing. I’ll be making this one again for sure.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time to see what other recipes come along. I’ll be going shopping this weekend, so we’ll see what I come back with and what recipes fit what I would like to do. The new issue of Cook’s Country has some great recipes in it, so I do plan to try some of them out next week. Check back for those. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!