You won’t go sour on this lemon pie

Clear back when I was in grade school, there was an obsession among my classmates with a candy called a Sour Warhead. If you’re not familiar, it’s a small hard candy that is sweet but coated in some of foulest, sourest powder ever created by humanity.

I hated the things.

If I was given one, I would run it under the water in the drinking fountain until only the sweet candy remained. I’ve just never been a fan of anything overly sour.

That being said, I love the flavor of lemon, so when I tell you I made a lemon pie this week, know it’s not a sour mess. Instead, it’s a very lightly flavored pie that also isn’t overly sweet. If your sweet tooth normally goes for something subtle, this pie is for you.

I found this recipe on the blog “LoveFoodies.” You can find it at http://lovefoodies.com/lemon-impossible-pie.html. I added more vanilla and lemon zest to mine.

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Impossible Lemon Pie

Ingredients

2 cups milk (I used whole)

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup flour

8 tablespoons melted butter

3/4 cup sugar

Zest of one lemon

Juice from 1/2 the lemon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 9-inch pie pan and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until they’re well combined.

Place the pie pan on a large baking sheet (you’re about to really fill this thing up, and nobody wants to have to clean the oven).

Pour the mixture into the prepared pie pan and bake 45 minutes.

The edges of the pie will brown a bit; the center might not took totally set up when it’s done.

Let it cool and then cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate a few hours or overnight before serving.

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The reason this pie is so “impossible” is that you’ll notice it creates its own crust as it bakes. I don’t know what chemistry makes it happen, but it’s pretty darn good, and you don’t have to do any rolling out of pie dough, which makes it a plus in my book.

I made the mistake of trying this as soon as it was cooled and before I refrigerated it. It’s definitely a dessert best served cold. It’s not bad when it’s a bit warm, but it’s much better straight out of the fridge.

As for the flavor and texture, it’s a bit like a lightly lemon-flavored custard pie, so if you’re a fan of that, I think you’ll enjoy this, too.

I was also able to make this in a heart-shaped pie pan I received from my mother-in-law a few weeks ago. It looked cute in the pan, and I didn’t have to struggle to put a crust in such a strange-shaped baking dish, so if you have any odd-shaped baking pans in your cupboard, it’s time to pull them out for this recipe.

And with such an easy pie, it may be worth adding to your Thanksgiving rotation, too.

Lindsey Young is managing editor of The Clarion, the Kansas Publishing Ventures newspaper in Andale. She can be reached at lindseyclarion@gmail.com.

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