How do you spell success? L-E-M-O-N

No, no, your eyes are not deceiving you.  Yes, you read that title right.  I know what you're thinking... "But Laura, you've never had a successful lemon pie!  You even spelled "fail" l-e-m-o-n months ago!  Could it be true?

IT IS TRUE!!!  Snap your fingers and do a jig, folks, because after 3 failed attempts, I have finally succeeded in the pain-in-the-ass art that is lemon pie.

And not only was it successful, it was probably one of the BEST pies I've made so far!  I couldn't believe it either.  It's to die for.

It was a rather tricky and time consuming recipe... first I baked a pie crust (I tried "twisting" the edges this time... a new method that wasn't as pretty as some of my other methods) and let it cool.

Over the stovetop, I made a mixture of sugar, corn starch, water, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract (LOTS of lemon) and let it cook down until it was thick.  These types of custard-y layers require a lot of stirring... they always make me nervous.  They can very quickly go from under-cooked to over-cooked with just a few extra seconds, so the process is slightly stressful.

All looked okay to me, so I let that cool to room temperature, then added it to the crust and put it in the fridge for a half hour, until it was solid.

While that was cooling, I made a lemon pudding mixture (which also had powdered sugar and cream cheese mixed in... yum), which then went on the top of the custard layer and cooled again for 30 minutes.

While that was cooling, I mixed cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth, then folded in cool whip and spread it over the top and refrigerated the pie again.

The whole process took about 2 1/2 hours with just a little bit of down time.  There were a lot of ingredients that went into it too (I may have missed a few in my description), so I honestly was expecting the worst.  After all, that's what I've come to expect with lemon!  And lime for that matter... heck, the whole citrus family has been pretty awful to me in this project.

But man-oh-man, did this surprise me!  The lemon flavor wasn't over-powering, but the slight tang combined with the rich texture and creamy sweetness made for one glimmering plateful of heaven!  The layers complimented each other, both in flavor and in texture, the whole thing was cooked perfectly, and there was no part that was "too much"... the balance was perfect.

I loved, loved, loved this pie.  The best part was that I had just had a slice of lemon pie at Perkin's a few weeks prior and this beat it hands down.  As an overly self-critical cook, that statement packs some serious punch.  Just outstanding!

I've got to say, I've had a series of home runs lately!  Good recipes or just getting better at baking?  Hmmm...

Next on the list is a baked strawberry and raspberry pie!  I'm making it patriotic looking, since I didn't bake a pie for the Fourth.  An American crime, if you ask me! 

Enjoy some of the best pies that summer has to offer!  Later gators :)