I've always been intrigued by a recipe I first saw years ago for a Shaker Lemon Pie. It seems the Shakers were a frugal group who didn't like to waste anything, especially any part of rare and hard to get lemons. So, they developed a sweet/tart pie that used the whole fruit.
Since I had Meyer Lemons to use I decided it was 'now or never' to satisfy my curiosity about this pie. The recipe is simple enough.....4 - 12 lemons (I guess it depends upon the size......I used eight), 2 1/4 c. Granulated Sugar and 6 eggs ~ I did add a pinch of salt to my lemons & sugar just because I've always added a bit of salt to anything I make or bake. It was difficult to slice the lemons 'paper thin' as called for in the recipe but I ended up using the sharpest knife in the house ~ Dane's fish fileting knife. My chef's knife, although sharp enough for most things I do, just wasn't as easy to use as the razor sharp fish knife.
I sliced all the lemons, being as careful as I could to not loose any of the juice, removed any seeds and then added the sugar. They will sit overnight at room temperature to macerate and, hopefully, pull the bitterness out of the lemon rinds. I'm hopeful the thin skinned Meyer Lemons won't have as much bitterness as regular lemons have as the pith is just a narrow bit. Tomorrow I'll add the eggs and then bake and see what happens.
Stay tuned!
Slicing lemons:
Adding the sugar to the sliced lemons and mixing well:
Lemons are such a pretty fruit!
Since I had Meyer Lemons to use I decided it was 'now or never' to satisfy my curiosity about this pie. The recipe is simple enough.....4 - 12 lemons (I guess it depends upon the size......I used eight), 2 1/4 c. Granulated Sugar and 6 eggs ~ I did add a pinch of salt to my lemons & sugar just because I've always added a bit of salt to anything I make or bake. It was difficult to slice the lemons 'paper thin' as called for in the recipe but I ended up using the sharpest knife in the house ~ Dane's fish fileting knife. My chef's knife, although sharp enough for most things I do, just wasn't as easy to use as the razor sharp fish knife.
I sliced all the lemons, being as careful as I could to not loose any of the juice, removed any seeds and then added the sugar. They will sit overnight at room temperature to macerate and, hopefully, pull the bitterness out of the lemon rinds. I'm hopeful the thin skinned Meyer Lemons won't have as much bitterness as regular lemons have as the pith is just a narrow bit. Tomorrow I'll add the eggs and then bake and see what happens.
Stay tuned!
Slicing lemons:
Adding the sugar to the sliced lemons and mixing well:
Lemons are such a pretty fruit!