Lemon Peeps Pie

I began today’s kitchen adventures with every intention of making a lemon meringue pie. I had a few beautiful little Meyer lemons to use up, and a ready-to-bake pie crust (no apologies) in my fridge. When I got to the part where I should have beat egg whites into meringue, I got to thinking…

It’s almost Easter…

Marshmallow is sort of like meringue…

and those little Peeps chicks are cute!

So, here we are. Lemon Peeps Pie is lemony, marshmallowy, cute, and delicious. Have a sense of humor, and have a Happy Easter!

Ingredients (Serves 8)

1 baked pie crust (follow directions on a refrigerated crust, or buy a pie crust from the baking aisle at the market)

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons corn starch

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups water

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from Meyer lemons if possible)

8 yellow Peeps chicks

Directions

Step 1) In a medium saucepan, whisk together flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Slowly add water and whisk well.

Step 2) Bring mixture to a gentle boil, stirring frequently. Cook for two minutes, then remove from heat.

Step 3) In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks. Drizzle about half of the cooked flour/sugar mixture into the egg yolks – go slow! Stir egg yolk mixture well, then add the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan with the remaining flour/sugar mixture. Stir well.

Step 4) Bring the saucepan to a gentle boil again, and cook for an additional two minutes, stirring constantly.

Step 5) Remove saucepan from heat. Add the grated lemon zest and butter; whisk until smooth. Finally, drizzle the lemon juice in slowly, stirring constantly until a completely uniform mixture forms.

Step 6) Allow the completed lemon filling to cool for 15 minutes. Then, pour filling into a baked pie crust. Refrigerate for one hour.

Step 7) After one hour, remove your lemon pie from the refrigerator and arrange Peeps chicks around the outside edge. Feel free to decorate the center of the Lemon Peeps Pie any way you wish. I used a few scraps of pie crust dough to cut a few Easter egg shapes, decorate, and bake for about 10 minutes (400 degree oven). Then I arranged my baked Easter egg cutouts (cooled!) in the center of my Lemon Peeps Pie. Isn’t it cute?

Happy Easter, Friends!