Lemon Icebox pie is one of my favorite pies – and one of the only desserts I love that does not have chocolate in it!  Lemon icebox is about as close as I get to liking fruit desserts.

Difficulty:  Easy

Source:  you guessed it – my mom

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed, may need to add more)

1 teaspoon lemon zest (I prefer to leave this out)

1 graham cracker crust – http://notjustanotherfoodblogger.com/graham-cracker-crust/

For anything bigger than a shallow 8 inch pie plate, you’ll probably want to double this recipe.  You may not end up using quite double, but you’ll want more than a single recipe.

Mix sweetened condensed milk with egg yolks and 1/2 cup lemon juice. Add more lemon juice to taste.  Stir with whisk until completely mixed.  I’m making 2x the recipe here.

Pour through strainer into pie crust.  The straining gets rid of lemon pulp and bits of the egg yolk.  If you use lemon zest, you’ll want to pour through the strainer into a bowl before adding lemon zest, then stir in the zest and pour into crust.

Refrigerate for a few hours until set.  Serve with meringue topping or whipped cream.  I think it’s excellent without any topping.  This version of this pie isn’t as firm as what you’ll generally find in restaurants, but I like the taste of this version best.  More lemon juice will make it a bit more firm.

The Story:  Growing up I wasn’t a huge fan of birthday cake, which required (can I say inspired?) some creativity on the part of my mom when it came to birthday party planning.  For my 6th birthday she made miniature lemon icebox pies for my party guests.  I’m not sure my guests were as excited about the lemon icebox as I was, but I loved it for sure!