Creamy Lemon Pie

Pie before baking

Recipe from Weight Watchers

Happy Beltane (mid-spring)! Hope you enjoyed your holiday today. I finally made the Weight Watchers Lemon Pie, but as usual made some alterations. The crust did not press into the pan easily, so I added another tablespoon of butter to the graham crackers (it would have tasted fine without). A hint for pressing crust into pan evenly: pat in with fingers, then use the back side of a teaspoon to press more firmly and evenly. To make the crust top edge even, hold your fingers on top edge of the pie pan as you push crust up against the sides of the pie pan with the spoon back. Crust does take a bit of finessing. The filling is simple to make, though.

Since today was not a “bake” day, I was reluctant to heat up my oven for 15 minutes of pie baking. I used our convection oven/toaster oven/broiler instead! It took less time and electricity to heat up, consuming fewer resources and producing fewer greenhouse gases. Then I used the residual heat to toast myself an English muffin.

Although WW claims that this pie serves 10, I can’t imagine how one would cut it into fewer pieces than 8. If you’re trying to lose weight and don’t want to have a whole pie on hand, you can freeze half (or more) of it for up to two weeks, or give half to your neighbors or friends. It’s quite thin, like a tart, so if you share you’ll probably want to cut individual slices before putting them onto a plate.

Lemon Pie after Baking

Creamy Lemon Pie

serves 8

6 whole reduced-fat cinnamon graham crackers

2 tbsp. butter (I recommend using 3 tbsp. butter)

11 oz. fat-free sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs

½ c. fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make graham crackers into fine crumbs. Either grind graham crackers in a food processor, or put graham crackers into plastic bag and crush with rolling pin. Place crumbs in small bowl.

Melt butter and pour over graham cracker crumbs in bowl, mixing with a fork until crumbs are completely moistened. Press crumbs evenly into a 9-inch pie pan. Put pie pan with crust in refrigerator to chill while preparing lemon filling.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Add condensed milk and mix until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Pour filling into prepared crust.

Bake pie for 15 minutes. Cool completely. For best flavor, served chilled. 

Our workhorse: Black & Decker convection oven baking the pie