Quick Lemon Pie

Quick Lemon Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

Out of all the pies I have made through the years Quick Lemon Pie is my son’s, Dwight’s, favorite pie. I picked up the recipe at a church function some years ago here in the state of Tennessee and have made it numerous times since. I got the brainstorm to show how easy it is to make to let Dwight do the honors. Warning: If your fellow isn’t used to being in the kitchen, either leave the house or if your nerves can stand it grab a camera. I gained a never-to-be-forgotten unique perspective into a young adult male’s mind, but felt like I had been in the middle of a tornado by the time Dwight finished his pie. We ate Dwight’s creation for desert on Mother’s day and I savored every bite as well as the memories.

Dwight got a call from some friends and was getting ready to head out the door Saturday night when I reminded him of the pie he had agreed to make- the fact that it was his favorite pie helped my cause. He turned around and asked how long it would take. Reassured it would take only a couple of minutes he entered my kitchen with gusto. The first step was opening up a can of condensed milk, which wasn’t a problem as Dwight has opened cans before with the can opener. He dumped the condensed milk into the mixing bowl I put on the counter and then asked where the lemon juice was. Holding up the green bottle of reconstituted lemon juice that I keep in my refrigerator, Dwight dubiously asked if I was sure that it went in the pie. Assured that it was he grabbed a measuring cup. I let out a scream when I beheld my six-foot-four-inch son, through the lens of my camera, pouring out lemon juice about a yard high above the measuring cup. He snickered and asked, “What’s the matter, Mom?” My son is a natural comedian and due to being photographed since he was little for various magazines and articles he tends to try and see if he can shock or rattle me and mess up any pictures I am taking at the present time. There was more than one-half cup of lemon juice but he poured it into the mixing bowl anyway. He turned the mixer on and found the cool whip, then licked the contents off the lid telling me he was making sure the cool whip was still good and was contemplating taste testing the rest, but thankfully time did not permit that. Dwight scrapped the cool whip into the bowl with a spatula and turned the mixer on high. When I rechecked the recipe I told him that the mixer was only to be on low so he turned it down. While the mixer beat the ingredients, Dwight undid the plastic top of the graham cracker crust intrigued with how it was sealed. When it was time to pour the lemon mixture into the crust he had to hunt out another spatula as he had licked off the first one and I protested him reusing it again. He was going to leave the lemon mixture in a huge lump in the middle (his creative touch), but I persuaded Dwight that it needed to be spread around a bit. His artsy mind took over and he proceeded to try out different designs finishing off with a smooth, sculptured, rounded top broken by one single curl in the middle. In true male fashion after I snapped a picture of him and his pie, Dwight got up and said, “Nothing to it,” and headed out the door. I sat down at the counter feeling weak in my knees, elated at the photo shots I had gotten of my son, caught my breath as things quieted down, and surveyed the mess I would have to clean up. I felt very motherly. P.S. I will be posting the rest of the photos on my website shortly.

Quick Lemon Pie has a mild cool lemony taste. It takes only five to ten minutes to make a pie (depending on the experience of the person making the pie) and serves eight people. This is a perfect quick dessert for unexpected company or to take to a church dinner. The only downside I have found to this pie is that it disappears very fast so for hearty eaters you might want to make two pies instead of one.

Quick Lemon Pie

½ c lemon juice
1 can condensed milk
1 (8 oz) container cool whip
1 graham cracker crust

Mix together on low the lemon juice and condensed milk. Add cool whip and beat on low until firm. Pour into a graham cracker crust and chill. May garnish with a sliced lemon and mint leaves!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a freelance writer, author, columnist, and photographer from Jamestown, TN. If you have any cooking tips or favorite recipes you are welcome to contact me by email at: dorcaswalker@yahoo.com. For more information about the Walker family and Dorcas’ books check out her website at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com or htpp://dorcasannettewalker.blogspot.com for other Creative Mountain Cookin recipes.