Naomi Judd's Lemon Pie Recipe Is "The Best Lemon Pie" (8 Ingredients, 20 Minutes) Pies Desserts Cookbooks Fruit Gluten-free

On page 184 of her cookbook, Naomi's Home Companion, Naomi Judd shares her mom's lemon pie recipe, which she titles "The Best Lemon Pie." She writes, "This is another one of my Mom's best. To top it off – pun intended – just add Mama's foolproof meringue from the Chocolate Meringue Pie (page 152)."

The lemon pie recipe is very easy to make, and something I baked after Naomi's death on April 30, 2022. The homemade lemon curd is smooth, creamy and full of lemon flavor.

The lemon pie filling is made with egg yolks, granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, hot water, lemon juice (fresh is best) and butter. (Check out the health benefits of lemon.) The filling is cooked on the stovetop before being poured into a baked pie crust. Cool on the counter and then put the lemon pie into the refrigerate to cool completely.

We topped the creamy lemon pie with homemade whipped cream. Delicious! Serve this creamy lemon pie recipe for dessert with a cup of coffee. 

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes plus time to cool the filling
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes plus time to cool the filling 
Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch baked pie shell

Lemon Filling

• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 7 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used 3 large lemons)
• 2 tablespoons butter

Here's how to make it:

1. To make the filling, in a heatproof bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks to break them up. Set aside.
2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in the hot water until smooth. Bring a boil over high heat, stirring. When the mixture begins to thicken, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, at a very gentle boil for 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
3. Stir several spoonfuls into the yolks. Stir the yolks mixture into the sugar mixture in the saucepan.
4. Cook over low heat, stirring, until thickened and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the butter and lemon juice. (I used a mesh strainer to catch the seeds.) Use fresh lemon juice for this pie recipe.
6. Place a piece of wax paper directly on the surface of the filling and let the saucepan cool.
7. Remove the wax paper and spoon the cooled filling into the baked pie shell. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Store the pie in the refrigerator.

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