When Martha Stewart was released from her infamous prison stint, she admitted that fresh lemons were among the few things she truly missed while behind bars. I feel you, Martha. I can’t pass up a lemon dessert, which is why I have such strong memories of these tiny pies that pop up in New England grocery and convenience stores. In fact, I love lemon so much that my typical plan of attack is to scrape the lemon filling out with a spoon and eat it plain. Give this homemade crust a chance, but I wouldn’t blame you if you still want to eat the lemon curd filling on its own.
YIELD: 8 pies
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours, plus 1 hour chilling time
DIFFICULTY: 4
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: food processor, pastry or pizza cutter, standard 12-cup muffin tin, 4-1/2 and 3-inch round cookie cutters, pie weights or dried beans, fine-mesh strainer
CRUST
2-1/2 cups (10-5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
16 tablespoons (8 ounces) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup ice-cold water
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
FILLING
1/2 cup (3-1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
grated zest of 2 lemons
2 large eggs
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 3 or 4 lemons)
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
MAKE THE CRUST:
Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt together in the bowl of a food processor to sift and combine. Add the butter and pulse in 3-second bursts until partially incorporated, with pea-sized chunks throughout and a texture resembling moist cornmeal.
With the processor running, drizzle the water and vinegar through the feed tube; process just until a shaggy and crumbly dough starts to form. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl.
Lay 2 sheets of plastic wrap on a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and place one on each sheet of plastic wrap. Pat into discs, wrap well, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
MAKE THE CURD:
Whir the sugar and lemon zest in a food processor for 15 seconds.
Whisk the eggs together in a bowl until well beaten, then vigorously whisk in the zested sugar.
Heat the lemon juice and butter in a straight-sided, heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat just until the liquid starts to steam and a bubble or two appears at the edge of the pan. Remove from the heat and slowly drizzle about 1/4 cup of the hot lemon juice into the eggs, whisking constantly to temper the eggs and help them adjust to the heat. Whisk the tempered eggs back into the remaining lemon juice.
Return the pan to the burner on low heat and cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes, until the liquid thickens considerably and puddles up on itself when dripped from a spatula or spoon. Watch carefully to make sure the curd doesn’t come to a boil—that will cook and scramble the eggs.
Strain the curd into a clean bowl through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any errant bits of cooked egg or zest (it happens every time). Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
BAKE THE PIES:
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spritz 8 wells of a muffin tin with baking spray.
On a floured work surface, roll one of your dough discs into a rough 10 by 12-inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 8 rounds using a 4-1/2-inch cookie cutter. (Don’t have a cookie cutter that wide? Use the clean lid from a deli container.)
Gently press the dough rounds into the greased muffin wells, patching any holes with dough scraps. Make sure the dough comes up over the edges, as it will shrink and sink into the well as it bakes. Line each dough-filled well with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Freeze the muffin tin for 10 minutes.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the dough no longer looks raw and shiny when you peek under the foil. Remove from the oven and gently lift the foil packets and weights off each crust. (If using beans, remember that they’ll no longer be edible but, once cool, can be saved and used indefinitely as pie weights.)
Whisk the heavy cream and cornstarch together in a small bowl, then whisk it into the chilled lemon curd. Roll the remaining dough disc into another 10 by 12-inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 8 more rounds, this time using a 3-inch cookie cutter.
Fill each parbaked crust with 1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons lemon curd and top with a small dough round, pressing gently to adhere it to the bottom crust. Cut small slits in the crust tops to let steam escape; brush with a light layer of the remaining lemon curd.
Return to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the top crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then slide a knife around the edges to loosen and gently pry the pies out of the wells. Transfer the pies to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Store the pies in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
LEMON LOVER?
If you’re an inveterate lemon curd fan, you may want to double that part of the recipe. Whisk the leftover curd with 1 cup chilled heavy cream and run it through your ice cream maker for the greatest lemon ice cream of all time. No exaggeration.