Southern Style Lemon Chess Pie Filling Recipes

Steps:

• Whisk together all ingredients. Use filling immediately.
• Makes enough to fill one 9-inch pie.
• (Tip: To make Lemon Chess Pie, pour filling into 9-inch unbaked pieshell and bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes or until firm. Shield edges to prevent excess browning, if needed. Cool completely on a wire rack.).

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar, and add the eggs one by one. Blend in the lemon juice, zest, buttermilk, vanilla and cornmeal so you have a light mixture. Pour filling into pie shell and bake for 10 minutes. Lower temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 20 minutes or more until center is almost completely set.
• TIP: LEMON PEPPER
• This is a great tip to lower your salt intake. Just peel the zest from a lemon, avoiding the white pith which is bitter. Bake at a low temperature, like 300 for about 2035 minutes, until peel is dry (temperature depends on how big a batch). Coarsely chop, and blend in a spice grinder with 15 black peppercorns, 10 white peppercorns, 8 allspice berries, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder. Pulse to combine.
• LEMON BUTTER
• Soft butter. Juice lemons, add shallots and parsley. Season with salt and white pepper. Mix well and form into logs for serving and freezing.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff.
• Set aside.
• In large bowl, cream together sugar, cornmeal, lemon juice, butter and egg yolks for 5 minutes or more until creamy.
• Gently fold beaten egg whites into this lemon mixture.
• Gently pour filling into pie crust.
• Bake about 15 minutes or until top of pie begins to brown.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes or more until pie is just set in the middle.
• It should be a little jiggly, not runny, in the middle.
• Remove from oven and cool.
• It can be refrigerated, but is best served at room temperature.
• Covered, this pie will keep unrefrigerated for up to 4 days; however, it won't last that long!

Steps:

• Prepare the pie crust: Generously butter a 10-inch round, fluted tart pan. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, salt, black pepper and lemon zest. Working quickly, rub the cold butter into the dry mixture using your fingers or a pastry cutter. Cut the butter into the flour until the pieces are the size of small pebbles. (Alternatively, use a food processor to pulse the dry ingredients with the butter.) Add the egg yolks and the cold water. Using your hands, combine just until the dough comes together in clumps. Gather dough into a ball; flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out chilled dough between two sheets of parchment or on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch round. Using the rolling pin, transfer dough into the prepared tart pan. Press the dough into the fluted sides and trim any overhang to 1/4 inch above the pan. Chill the dough again for at least 20 minutes.
• Line the pie dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the crust is lightly browned along the edges and beginning to firm up, about 18 minutes. Remove the pie weights and parchment and bake for another 5 minutes to lightly brown the edges. Press down the surface with the back of a spoon if the crust bubbles. Allow the crust to cool completely before filling. Adjust the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
• As the crust cools, prepare the filling: Whisk together eggs, yolks, sugar, cornmeal, lemon juice and zest and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in buttermilk and the melted butter.
• Place the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and carefully pour the filling into the cooled pie shell. Bake until the filling is set and jiggles slowly when the tart pan is moved back and forth, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool pie completely before slicing. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and serve at room temperature or cold, with some whipped heavy cream on the side.