Shaker lemon pie - what a pleasure! The virtue of Shaker pies, like their furniture, lies in simplicity and straightforward character. And simplicity is this pie's crowning glory: jammy, tart, sweet, brilliant Meyer lemons spilling out of a flaky, buttery crust.
We cannot claim any kind of originality here. This is a basic, classic recipe; pretty much every Shaker lemon pie recipe will have the same proportions of lemons, eggs, and sugar. But since we promised the recipe yesterday, here it is.
We adore Meyer lemons in this pie. It's like eating fragrant, bergamot-touched marmalade, oozing yellow sun from between two flaky pie crusts. The lemons bake up jammy and tender - not too sour, and not too sweet.
We were caught without enough eggs and only used three; the pie turned out just fine.
Meyer Lemon Shaker Pie
makes one 9" double crust pie
3-4 Meyer lemons
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 recipe Basic Pie Crust
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
Egg white for wash (optional)
Sugar for top
Thinly slice the lemons - as shaved thin as you can get them! Use a mandoline if you have one. Pick out any seeds. Toss with the sugar and salt and set aside.
Heat oven to 450°F. Grease a 9" pie dish or tart pan. Roll out half the dough into a circle, flat between two pieces of wax paper. Peel off the top layer of wax paper. Place your pie dish upside down on the pie dough round, and carefully flip the pan and dough over. Peel away the wax paper on that side and carefully press the dough into the pan. Using a knife or shears, trim away the extra dough so that there is a half inch of dough above the lip of the pan. Tuck under and roll this extra dough, and pinch tight to the side of the pan. Put in the freezer to chill.
Roll out the rest of dough between two pieces of wax paper and put in the freezer to chill.
Beat the eggs well and stir into the lemons with the vanilla. Remove the chilled pie crust from the freezer and pour in the lemons.
Place the other round on top and trim to fit. Pinch seal the edges and cut a few slits on the top to let out steam. Brush with egg white and sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on top. Put back in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill.
Take out pie and bake on the lowest rack for 15 minutes at 450°F. Turn the heat down to 375°F and move to the center rack. Bake for another 30 minutes or until the crust is golden. If the crust edges begin browning too much cover with parchment.
Let cool for at least half an hour before eating, but note that this is very good warm! Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream are both heavenly with it.
More pies and tarts
• Pies, Tarts, and Baking Tips and Goodies for Pi Day
• Recipe: Ginger Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
• Baking Holiday: Celebrating Pi Day with Pie
• Recipe: Tart Lemon Tart
(Images: Faith Hopler)
How to Bake a Potato: Three Easy Methods
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Straw Mat from The ...
10 No-Fail Decor Tricks & Tips for Small Spaces
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
I bet this would be fabulous if you added some fresh ginger. It sounds wonderful now, too, but I have a weakness for ginger and lemons.
Yes, actually Barbara did that: Meyer Lemon and Ginger Pie. Yum!
OMFG. I made this pie, and it turned out beautifully.
However, I made the grand mistake of leaving it sitting on a cold burner grate on the stove to cool, and popped outside for a chat with a neighbor. Howdy, neighbor. So long, pie. When I went back inside there was my VERY bloated dog sitting in the kitchen, next to 1) a pile of shattered Pyrex pie-pan glass 2) a pile of desecrated lemon pie and 3) a pile of lemony dog puke. SHOCK AND AWE. I swear some days, if I didn't have disappointments....I wouldn't have any appointments!
can i make this without meyer lemons? i live in a country where we can't find them...though there are a variety of odd italian lemons i can get. like huge ones with thick peel from the amalfi coast and sicily? would they do? or are regular lemons the next best thing?
Hi Bina I'm italian too and I can't find these Meyer lemons :(
Here they're said to be sweeter and richer in juice than regular lemons:
http://www.agraria.org/coltivazioniarboree/limone.htm
Perhaps we should try with thin-peel lemons and more sugar.
Bx... !!!!! SO sorry.
If you can't find Meyer lemons, just substitute any regular lemon. If you're worried about bitter peels, try peeling one lemon and discarding the peel.
Also, note that Meyer lemons are usually much smaller than regular lemons. If you use larger ones (say, as large as an orange) then try with just two.
I am totally drooling over your Meyer lemon dishes. This will be the very first thing I make next time I see Meyers at the grocer :)
does one use whole lemons, or do you peel them first? hm.
Eliza - use whole lemons.
Made this over the weekend with fresh meyer lemons picked that day - everyone raved.
I just made this. Turned out great.
Thanks for the recipe!
I had to register just so I could leave a comment! This was really good after some of the modifications I made. With the actual filling, 2 cups of sugar sounded like waaaay too much for me, so I only added about 1 and 1/4 cups of sugar and it was still plenty sweet enough. Other than that I kept the recipe the same, and it was sooooo good. Especially with vanilla ice cream!
YUM! I'm thinking I'll make this to bring to some friends' place tonight.
I love ANYTHING do to with lemons, ESPECIALLY when where talking about Meyers. Some of my very favorite deserts of all time are lemon varieties. Lemon meringue pie,lemon curd tea cakes,lemon pound cake, lemon sorbet & NOW this Meyers lemon pie. I haven't made it yet,but just by the looks of it,I'm POSITIVE it will become my #1 favorite. Nothing like Meyers lemons. It truly is a fantastic treat. I will be baking this sinful pie for desert tomorrow. I can't wait to sink my teeth into it. YUMMY!!!
I made this just tonight so I could finally taste Meyer lemons before citrus goes out of season and I start baking with summer fruits. It was SO GOOD! I can't get over the sweetness of Meyers! But I think my oven runs cold because I baked it a little longer than the recipe called for and the lemon peels had quite a bit of bite to them. The pie was still delicious!