The Power of Rest

Bakery Shop Lemon Anniversary Pie and Dad's Lemon Squares

Bakery Shop Lemon Cream Cheese Pie

** If you make this pie (and you like lemons) people will beg you for the recipe and think you're a baking prodigy. Really.

1 baked pie pastry (to fit a 9 inch pie plate)

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 T cornstarch

1 pinch salt

1 C water

2-3 drops yellow food coloring

2 t grated lemon rind

2/3 C fresh lemon juice

2 T butter

12 oz. softened cream cheese

3/4 C confectioners sugar

3/4 C heavy whipping cream, whipped (measure 3/4 cup already whipped)

1 T fresh lemon juice

1. In saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and pinch of salt.

2. Stir in water, lemon juice, lemon rind and yellow food coloring. Boil over medium high heat stirring constantly. Cook for two minutes, continuing to stir, until smooth and thickened. 

3. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Set aside to cool for about 1 hour.

4. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with 1 T lemon juice and the powdered sugar until smooth.

5. Fold in the whipped cream. Reserve 1/2 C of this mixture to garnish the pie. Spread the remaining mixture into the cooked and cooled pastry shell.

6.  Top the cream cheese mixture with the cooled lemon mixture. 

7. Chill the pie in the fridge overnight.

8. When ready to serve, put the reserved cream cheese mixture into a plastic baggie and snip off one corner. Pipe onto pie. Keep pie refrigerated until ready to serve.

Dad's Lemon Squares

2 C flour

1 C butter, softened

1/2 C powdered sugar

2 C granulated sugar

4 eggs

4 (or more) teaspoons grated lemon rind

4 (or a bit more) tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, butter and powdered sugar until butter resembles coarse crumbs (pea sized or smaller). Press this mixture into a 13x9 inch pan (un greased) and bake for 20 minutes. 

While the crust is baking, mix the remaining ingredients until light and fluffy (3 minutes). Pour mixture over hot crust, and bake for 25 minutes until no indentations remain when touched in center. Cool, dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares.