Okay, I know what you’re thinking. “Lemon pie? In February?” It might seem like a warm-weather dish, but this isn’t. Trust me. Want to know why?

Because of the crust.

I mean, winter is citrus season anyway, so you can use all those Meyer lemons instead of just starting at them in that pretty bowl on your table (not that I speak from experience). But it’s really the crust. The crust is made from Duchy Originals stem ginger shortbread; meaning it’s warm & spicy. Yes, the filling is cool & refreshing, as lemon is, but the crust gives it a new spin. It’s NOT a lemon meringue pie, it’s not quite a full-on icebox pie, and it’s not just a lemon cream pie. It’s somewhere in the middle. Clowns to the left, jokers to the right.

That’s the pie sans the mess o’ whipped cream I piled on it. It’s even pretty that way, isn’t it?

It’s pretty amazing. And simple. I reserved some cookie crumbs from the crust & sprinkled them on top.  You could also use some finely chopped candied ginger,  but a piece of candied lemon zest would work too.

LEMON PIE WITH DUCHY ORIGINAL’S GINGER SHORTBREAD COOKIE CRUST (adapted from a recipe by Cook’s Country June/July 2013)

Ingredients:

• 20 Duchy Original’s stem ginger shortbread cookies, finely crumbled
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 medium pieces candied ginger, finely chopped
• 2 (14-ounce each) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Break the cookies into pieces and add them to a blender, food processor or sandwich bag and crush until the crackers are finely ground, or until they resemble sand.
2. Reserve 3-4 tablespoons of the cookie crumbs for topping the finished pie. Mix in the melted butter with the rest of the crumbs & the chopped candied ginger until the mixture resembles wet sand & somewhat conforms to the shape of the bowl.
3. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until it is just beginning to brown. Cool the crust completely on wire rack.
4. Once the crust is totally cooled, once again preheat the oven. This time to 400° F.
5. Whisk the condensed milk with the egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk in the lemon juice, then add the lemon zest. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake the pie until the edges are just set but the center still jiggles when the pie plate is lightly moved, about 15 -20 minutes.
6. Let the pie cool completely on a wire rack and then cover and refrigerate until well-chilled and set, about 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
7. Whip the cream, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form, and serve each slice with a generous dollop, or cover the entire pie. Sprinkle ginger cookie crumbs (& more finely chopped candied ginger if you like) on top & enjoy!

Yeah… it’s messy. But I think a good homemade pie SHOULD be messy. I used my iSi Gourmet Whip again for the cream, but you can certainly whip it in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer and plop it oh.

But what a perfect pie for a bleary winter day. The citrusy taste brightens it & makes you remember that summer sunshine isn’t far away, and the heat of the ginger warms you up. The whipped cream gives the tart filling a smooth balance… and the extra ginger? Well. We all need more warmth right now, don’t we?

And speaking of warming you up… perhaps getting some boxes of Duchy Originals shortbread to try for yourself would work?

Yep. I’m giving away a set of FOUR boxes of Duchy Originals shortbread! One each in the original all-butter shortbread, lemon all-butter shortbread, oaten biscuits & the stem ginger all-butter shortbread I used in this recipe. I’ve shown you guys different ways of using these before- from lemon cranberry crumble to figgy pudding cookie bars & now this pie. But they’re also great right out of the box!

In case you don’t know:

The Duchy Originals brand was founded in the UK in 1992 by HRH Prince Charles The Prince of Wales. The Prince set out to produce food of the highest quality, using the best natural ingredients, produced sustainably and in harmony with the environment, while supporting worthwhile causes through The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation. Duchy Originals is now produced in partnership with Waitrose. Waitrose is a premium UK grocery chain with 272 stores – a division of the John Lewis Partnership.
Walkers Shortbread is proud to introduce a line of shortbread and biscuits true to the ethos of Duchy Originals Good Food Charter: that every product ”Is Good”, ”Does Good” and ”Tastes Good”.

And they really do taste good. Delicious, in fact.

So if you’d like to enter to win these four boxes of Duchy Originals’ amazing cookie varieties, then you can enter below.

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