This sweet-tart pie has humble origins in the Shaker community. The filling is like a chunky lemon curd, with big hits of tart lemon slices and slightly bitter peels. The secret to success? Slice the lemons very, very thinly.
Shaker Lemon Pie
4 lemons
3 cups (1 1/2 lb./750 g) plus 1 Tbs. sugar
Double recipe Basic Pie Dough, divided into 2 disks
7 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Halve 2 of the lemons crosswise. Using the slicing blade of a food processor or a very sharp knife, slice them very thinly, removing the seeds as you go. Put the slices in a bowl. Remove the peel and pith from the remaining 2 lemons and discard. Chop the flesh finely, discarding the seeds. Add the flesh and juices to the bowl. Add the 3 cups (1 1/2 lb./750 g) sugar and stir gently to coat evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425°F (220°C).
On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 dough disk into a 12-inch (30-cm) round about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. Transfer to a standard (not deep-dish) 9-inch (23-cm) pie pan and fit the dough into the pan. Roll out the other dough disk for the top crust into the same-sized round.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until well blended, then add to the lemon mixture and stir well. Add the salt and melted butter and stir until blended. Pour the filling into the crust and spread evenly. Place the top crust over the filling and trim the edges, leaving a 3/4-inch (2-cm) overhang. Fold the overhang under itself and crimp the edges of the dough. Cut a few steam vents in the top crust. Lightly brush the crust with the egg white, then sprinkle with the 1 Tbs. sugar.
Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and continue to bake until the crust is golden brown and the center is slightly puffed and the filling barely feels like it jiggles when the pan is shaken, about 30 minutes longer, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Tent the pie with aluminum foil if the crust browns too quickly. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours, before serving. Serves 8 to 10.
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24 comments
Made this recipe and it was delicious. I encountered the problem of having way too much filling with the seven eggs and all of the lemon. Anyone else have this problem?
In the citrus fruits (orange, lemon and lime), pectin is mainly located in the albedo, the inner white layer of the peel that surround the juicy vesicles, and the lamellae. When juice is extracted from the fruit, the peel and the albedo can be used to make the pectin. Thus, if JIM MORTON, you are correct about reducing bitterness. However, firmness will be aided by PECTIN in the white portion of the peel. The eggs (in the form of a custard) are also adding to firmness.
As many have said, TRY the original and then make your own changes from there depending upon your like or dislike of the original. My mom was from New Freedom, PA in the 30’s and 40’s and I bet she had this as a girl as she liked “lemon pie” when I was growing up. Hope I can make this pie for her next time I get to Orlando.
Will give a try asap. I am so glad to have Another LEMON RECIEPE.
Thank you.
Janis Chastain
I still need to know how many lemons to use since mine are HUGE. If I need to cut back on sugar since I have a few friends who are diabetics or substitute part of the sugar with other such as maple syrup or honey?
to: Kooi Tang: The BEST WAY to know how much to cut back anything is to try the original first, then you can decided by YOUR TASTE PREFERRENCE. IF you don’t like the original after trying it, gift pieces of the pie to others who like their sweets sweet! They will love you for it! A great substitute for granulated sugar is fructose sugar – you naturally start with less as it is already sweeter than real cane sugar. And it is metabolized slower in the body, this may be helpful for your diabetic friends. But, of course, they should eat ANY TYPE OF SWEETS in moderation for their own health sake! Liquid sweeteners as you suggested may not “gel” the filling well enough after the bake. But again, you can try anything! And it could be a great lemon “pudding” pie, LOL. Personally, I love tart tasting Lemony desserts! And I try anything to reduce sugar-sweetness. My Lemon-aid is lots of lemon juice and fresh spring water…NO sweetness! Good Luck!
My mom made a Shaker Lemon pie when I was a kid (mind you my mom has always been an awesome cook) and it did not come out well. It was so bitter. My sisters boyfriend finished a whole piece and said it was good, we think he just trying to be nice……it was awful. She never made one again.
I have a dozen huge lemons on my lemon tree ready to be used in less than 2 weeks. Do I need to use 4 lemons since they are bigger than the store bought? Another question is, can I cut back on the sugar? I have never tasted this pie before & it is hard for me to decide without tasting it before baking. For example, for apple pie, the recipe called for 1 cup of sugar and that tasted too sweet for me. So I use 3/4 cup & that tastes perfect for me. Since the recipe also called for 7 eggs, it is really hard to know how much sugar can I cut back. I really like to make this pie for my family & neighbors for this holiday season. Thanks.
My mother grew up very close to a Shaker Village in Massachusetts.
She even was babysat by them when very little.
She obtained a lot of the recipes. My grandfather worked as a
farmer for the Shakers.
A bajillion years ago, I tried to make this pie. I did something wrong, and it was laughably bitter! I have a feeling that I left the peel on all of the lemons, and didn’t use enough sugar. I look forward to trying this recipe, because it sure looks like a good pie!
This pie looks and sounds soooo very delicious but I’m a little confused about the photo vs. the directions. The directions say to remove the peel and pith but I can see a few small pieces of the p&p in the pie. What is best; which way do you recommend given that the pith is quite bitter? Does baking it remove the bitterness? Thank you!
Sorry, dummy me; I see now that the peel and pith is removed from only two of the lemons. But another question if I may – if you don’t want the pie to have any bitterness can you peel all 4 lemons or does the texture become too watery, or whatnot? Thank you again!
I’d guess if you zested all four lemons, keeping the yellow skin but discarding the white pith, you’d delete the bitterness but maintain the substantial firmness of the finished pie. You could still slice two of the lemons into thin discs and snip or cut away the pith on those to maintain fruity texture. Anyhow, that’s what I plan to try with this recipe.
Cooks illustrated addressed this problem and also speeds it up from overnight to 30 minutes.
Terry, give up you clearly are not a baker…
Wow, how unkind.
There are lots of amazing people who aren’t bakers Saratina. However there are no great people who have as ugly manners as you do. Grow up.
I love this pie, except the lemon rind we too hard to chew and will leave it out next time. I processed the two lemons in my processor so they were really really thin but everybody agreed to omit them next time. Does anybody else find this a problem. The pie overall is delicious after we pulled the rinds out.
I lived near Shaker Village in KY for years and had this pie often. I never tried to make it myself, so I’m glad to hear some have made it and it turned out well. It is such a unique dessert.
look forward to more recipes.
Great Recipe! This is a keeper…already referred 3 friends and family to recipe! Thank You.
We’re so flattered! So glad you love it, and thanks for the kind words!
can you blend the lemons instead slice??
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Sonoma never fails to bring some of the best recipes ideas to waiting fans.Shaker Lemon pie..just great