Lemon Chiffon Pie With Pretzel Crust

I had Friday off for Veteran's Day, so I decided to keep myself busy by making a pie. I perused my The Weekend Baker and decided on lemon chiffon pie with pretzel crust. Sounds good, right? Well, it totally was!

Let's get started!

Have ready a 9-inch pie plate and ingredients.  

Combine the pretzels and sugar in a food processor and process until the pretzels are medium-fine crumbs.

Add the melted butter and process briefly until the crumbs are evenly moist.

 Dump the crumbs into the pie plate and cover with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Place your hands on the plastic wrap and spread the crumbs to coat the bottom evenly. Once the crumbs are in place, and with the plastic wrap in place, use your fingers to pinch and press some of the crumbs around the inside edge and on the rim of the plate to cover evenly and completely.

Sprinkle the gelatin in the bottom of a blender, making sure that it's all off the blades. Pour about 1/3 cup of the lemon juice over the gelatin and let stand until the gelatin is no longer dry looking and has softened, about 5 minutes.

In a small saucepan (or in the microwave), bring the remaining lemon juice just to a boil. Carefully pour it into the blender to cover the gelatin. Let stand for 2 minutes. Cover and blend until the gelatin is dissolved, about 1 minute. Dip a spoon or spatula into the liquid. It should look clear and feel smooth to the touch.

Add the ricotta, 3/4 cup sugar, and the salt. Cover and blend until the mixture is smooth, about 45 seconds.  

Pour into a medium bowl and stir in the lemon zest. Refrigerate, stirring frequently, until the mixture is cooled and beginning to thicken, about 15 minutes. 

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks.  

Continue beating while gradually sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.

When all the sugar has been added, increase the speed to high and beat until firm, glossy peaks form.

Using a rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the whites into the chilled lemon mixture. 

Add the remaining whites and fold together gently but thoroughly until blended.

Pour the filling into the crust and allow it to mound in the center.

Cover and refrigerate until well chilled and set, at least 4 hours.

To serve, use a sharp, pointed knife to cut the pie into 8 wedges. Garnish with (optional):  lemon slices, mini-pretzels, mint sprigs, red berry sauce, or sweetened whipped cream.

This pie was really good, although, hilariously, up until the last step of the recipe (refrigerate for 4 hours), I thought I was making a lemon meringue pie. Ha! Oh well. One day I'll learn to read the entire recipe before I start cooking. But I loved this pie. It's super lemon-y, which I like. And the crust...  OMG, the crust is so good! The citrusy filling and the salty, buttery crust go really well together. As far as pies go, this one was pretty easy to make. I definitely recommend it.

RECIPE

Lemon Chiffon Pie With Pretzel Crust

Adapted from The Weekend Baker

Makes one 9-inch pie, or 8 servings

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRUST

3 1/2 cups salted mini-pretzels
1/4 cup granulated sugar
12 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING

1 packet unflavored powdered gelatin
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese (part-skim or whole is fine)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
4 whites from large eggs

DIRECTIONS TO MAKE THE CRUST

1.  Have ready a 9-inch pie plate. Combine the pretzels and sugar in a food processor and process until the pretzels are medium-fine crumbs (some small chunks are okay, as they add crunch). Add the melted butter and process briefly until the crumbs are evenly moist.

P.S. The buttered pretzel crumbs smell SO GOOD!

2.  Dump the crumbs into the pie plate and cover with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Place your hands on the plastic wrap and spread the crumbs to coat the bottom evenly. Once the crumbs are in place, and with the plastic wrap in place, use your fingers to pinch and press some of the crumbs around the inside edge and on the rim of the plate to cover evenly and completely. Redistribute the remaining crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pie plate and press down firmly to make a compact layer. Use a metal measuring cup with straight sides and a flat bottom for this. Set aside.

DIRECTIONS TO MAKE THE FILLING

3.  Sprinkle the gelatin in the bottom of a blender, making sure that it's all off the blades. Pour about 1/3 cup of the lemon juice over the gelatin and let stand until the gelatin is no longer dry looking and has softened, about 5 minutes.

4.  In a small saucepan (or in the microwave), bring the remaining lemon juice just to a boil. Carefully pour it into the blender to cover the gelatin. Let stand for 2 minutes. Cover and blend until the gelatin is dissolved, about 1 minute. Dip a spoon or spatula into the liquid. It should look clear and feel smooth to the touch.

5.  Add the ricotta, 3/4 cup sugar, and the salt. Cover and blend until the mixture is smooth, about 45 seconds. Pour into a medium bowl and stir in the lemon zest. Refrigerate, stirring frequently, until the mixture is cooled and beginning to thicken, about 15 minutes.

6.  Once the lemon mixture is thickened (it should be as thick as unbeaten egg whites), remove it from the fridge. The mixture should mound slightly. If it's too thick, heat it gently in a double boiler until it's more liquid and repeat the chilling process.

7.  In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Continue beating while gradually sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. When all the sugar has been added, increase the speed to high and beat until firm, glossy peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the whites into the chilled lemon mixture. Add the remaining whites and fold together gently but thoroughly until blended.

8.  Pour the filling into the crust and allow it to mound in the center. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled and set, at least 4 hours. To serve, use a sharp, pointed knife to cut the pie into 8 wedges. Garnish with (optional):  lemon slices, mini-pretzels, mint sprigs, red berry sauce, or sweetened whipped cream.

See Flickr! photostream here.

P.S. Pull out the crockpot and check out this roundup of chili recipes for fall!