For many of my friends, the words “easy” and “pie” should never appear together. Many people are afraid of pie, and how hard it is to make.
Not me. I love making pies. I find them much easier than cakes and cookies.
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| While people expect dry and arid, the desert can be very wet and cold! |
It appears that, for most people, it is the fear of making the crust that paralyzes them. It’s true, making a good crust can be difficult… but I discovered early in my adult life that there are methods that are pretty easy.
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| Winter rains bring stunning wildflowers. |
Making the crust in a food processor is a foolproof route to good results. This might not make the perfect, flaky crust your grandmother made (using lard), but I have never had anyone complain.
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| Two neighborhood friends: a Rufous hummingbird and a wester Screech Owl. |
Today, I will share my food processor crust recipe with you, but also a filling that is pretty much sunshine in pie form.
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| While cacti do hurt, they also have incredible beauty. |
In fact, it is called Arizona Sunshine Pie. I heard about it while buying veggies at the farmers market between Christmas and the New Year and it was on my table New Year’s Day.
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| The mission church of San Xavier del Bac is a local – and world – treasure. |
Its corny name smacks of chamber-of-commerce boosterism, but who can’t use some sunshine in this season? And this is peak citrus season here in Arizona. I found quite a few recipes for Arizona Sunshine Pie online and they were all the same.
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| And we have sunsets that can make you cry from their beauty. |
Me being me, I put my mark on the pie in two ways. First, I added a touch of Fiori di Sicilia extract to the batter. It adds a lovely floral quality. If you can’t find it, you can simply omit it. Second, after the first making, we all decide it needed to be more lemony, so I added the finely grated zest of a regular lemon to the filling.
And, since you have all seen lots of photos of eggs and sugar, as well as measuring spoons and cups here on the site, I thought is would be fun to share a few photos featuring the Arizona sunshine and all the beauty of our beloved Tucson!
~ David
Arizona Sunshine Pie
1 1/3 cups flour
8 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup ice water
1 whole organic Meyer lemon, about 5 ounces
finely grated zest of 1 organic Lisbon lemon
4 large eggs
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia
1 1/2 cups sugar
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place flour in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Distribute chilled butter cubes over the flour. Pulse 12 times. Drizzle water over the flour/butter mixture and pulse until dough begins to clump around the base of the blade. Remove the dough and place it on a lightly floured board. Briefly knead into a ball, then flatten to a disc and, using a floured rolling pin, roll into an 11-inch round, about 1/8-inch thick. Place the dough in a deep 9-inch pie plate and trim the edges, then crimp. Place in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
Wash the Meyer and Lisbon lemons well. Cut the Meyer lemon in half lengthwise, then cut each half lengthwise. Cut the quarters into 1/4-inch slices. This will allow you to remove all the seeds. Using a micro plane or box grater, finely grate the zest of the Lisbon lemon. Reserve the rest of the Lisbon lemon for another use.
Place the Meyer lemon pieces (with skin) in a blender along with the grated zest. Add the eggs, butter, vanilla, Fiori di Sicilia, and sugar. Blend until smooth.
Pour the mixture into the unbaked piecrust and bake for 40 minutes or until set.
Let the pie cool, then chill in the fridge or serve at room temperature.
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Gerlinde de Broekert
January 25, 2020 at 3:43 pmMy Meyer lemon trees are bursting with lemons. This is a wonderful recipe David and I am always looking for new recipes.
Cocoa & Lavender
January 25, 2020 at 6:18 pmNow, if we could only find recipes that use LOTS of Meyer lemons… 🙂 But, even though this only uses one, it is a great use of the lemon, Gerlinde.
2pots2cook
January 25, 2020 at 4:21 pmAfter almost a whole day wasted at the airports the whole batch would be just fine for my son and me �� Thank you dear David !
Cocoa & Lavender
January 25, 2020 at 6:18 pmOooh, Davorka… it definitely sounds like you both could use a Sunshine Pie!
Sippity Sup
January 25, 2020 at 6:25 pmYou're desert photos are as stunning as your pie. I just got back from Death Valley so I know first hand how beautiful the supposedly "barren" desert can be. GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
January 26, 2020 at 12:03 amThanks, Greg – you reminded me that I forgot to add captions. Duh. The desert is so incredibly beautiful – Death Valley is on our list, for sure.
Gloria Baker
January 26, 2020 at 12:17 amabsolutely love this, I love all with lemon!! xo
Cocoa & Lavender
January 26, 2020 at 7:36 pmI do, as well, Gloria. Even though I love chocolate, lemon always wins in a contest!
Sherry's Pickings
January 26, 2020 at 2:37 amthis sounds fabulous david. i love really lemon-y desserts! the tangier the better. yes i find making pastry in the food processor is incredibly easy, thank goodness. actually i used to make pastry by hand, just going by sight as to the measurements. always worked! cheers S
Cocoa & Lavender
January 26, 2020 at 9:00 pmI mostly prefer making a crust using my fingers, pinching the butter into the flour… but sometimes, when I don't have the time, the processor is my best friend! I am also a fan of lemon desserts, Sherry!
Sherry's Pickings
January 26, 2020 at 2:39 amooh yes lovely scenery and wildlife photos too!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 26, 2020 at 7:36 pmThanks, Sherry! 🙂
Christina | Christina's Cucina
January 26, 2020 at 6:49 amExactly how I make my crust except I add a tiny bit of sugar for a sweet pie. How lovely this one looks with my favorite lemons, ever! Love the gorgeous photos, especially the one with lightning! Wow! Thanks for the lovely recipe, David!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 26, 2020 at 11:24 pmSometimes I add a little sugar, too, Christina. It all depends on how sweet the filling is! Glad you enjoyed the photos.
Frank
January 26, 2020 at 1:27 pmThose nature photos are gorgeous, David. I see you have quite the eye for framing a shot, capturing a moment—a bird alighting on a flower or a bolt of lightening. Bravo!
And as for the pie, it sounds lovely. And not too terribly difficult, even for a non-baker like myself. I especially like your adding the fiori di Sicilia. Very nice touch!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 26, 2020 at 11:25 pmThanks, Frank – we feel very fortunate to live here. The bold of lightening took a lot of work (and luck!) considering I don't have ant fancy lightning-catching equipment.
And, by the way, you could make this pie crust with your eyes closed! 🙂
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
January 26, 2020 at 3:59 pmLove the name of this pie! And like you, I am a huge pie fan. Your photos are so beautiful. Now I want to go back…
Cocoa & Lavender
January 26, 2020 at 11:26 pmYou should come back, Inger – even though your daughter has graduated!
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
January 27, 2020 at 4:17 amYou can count on it David!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 27, 2020 at 1:57 pmGood – we will look forward to it! 🙂
Eha
January 27, 2020 at 1:36 amSm also always delighted to see new Arizona photos on your weekend collections ! We may share the desert aspect with you but the results in the landscape present so differently . . I also have a delightfully shaped Meyer lemon in my back garden . . . love the fruit, seem to use it all in savoury dishes . . even in savoury pies . . . .no, the crusts have been quite enjoyable to make . . . 🙂 1
Cocoa & Lavender
January 27, 2020 at 3:41 amYes, Eha – it is amazing that we are both in deserts and yet they are so different. I wish we had a Meyer lemon… perhaps someday.
Marcelle
January 27, 2020 at 1:32 pmDavid, love your celebration of Tucson in this post. Your photos are stunning! We've got to get out to AZ on one of our big road trips. I love lemon pie, but I fall it to the category of people you describe and I don't try to make enough pies 🙂 That crackly crust on top of your Arizona Sunshine Pie has talked me into trying this one. Looks delicious!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 27, 2020 at 1:59 pmYou really do need to come here – so much to see and do! And we could always cook together! I am surprised to find you are crust-phobic… considering all the work you do on those amazing cookies, I would have thought crust would have been a no-brainer!
Ron
January 27, 2020 at 2:52 pmDavid, I'm a cookie making man myself, but hold great respect for one who can master a pie crust such as you.
Lovely images, actually fantastic is a better word.
Now for that pie, I must make that for Eva as she loves anything lemon. As we don't have Meyers lemons over this way, do you think normal lemons will work? I think our lemons come from Spain.
Cocoa & Lavender
January 28, 2020 at 3:55 amHi Ron. This is a great question – and I should have addressed it in the post! I want to start by saying that I have not tried this YET. But I would consider part of a thin skinned orange and one of your regular lemons mixed – for a total of 5 ounces fruit. I would probably do 3 ounces orange, and 2 ounce lemon. For the lemon, I would take off the zest with a vegetable peeler and put it on the scale, then slice off the pith (Meyer lemons have almost zero pith). I would then add enough flesh (minus the seeds) to equal 2 ounces. I think this will get you there. I will try this next time and let you know. You can easily do this crust, Ron – its so simple – and Eva will be so pleased.
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
January 28, 2020 at 2:47 amDavid, your outdoor photos are sooooo beautiful! So are the pie photos. And lemon is just about my favorite flavor, so I would definitely appreciate your addition of the extra "regular lemon" zest. Delish!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 28, 2020 at 3:55 amLemon is the best, Jean! Better than chocolate! Thanks for your kind comment – I am glad you like the photos.
Valentina
January 28, 2020 at 10:35 pmThis is so timely as my little Meyer lemon tree is still bursting with lemons. The recipe sounds lovely and your nature photographs are stunning! 🙂 ~Valentina
Cocoa & Lavender
January 29, 2020 at 2:30 pmYou are very fortunate, Valentina! Lucky for me, I have neighbors with them… Glad you enjoyed the photos…
Fran @ Gday Souffle
January 28, 2020 at 11:40 pmDavid, I love your photos of Arizona. Some of them remind me of the badlands area near Borrego Springs, California. I've made lemon meringue pie before but not just a 'plain' lemon pie- looks delicious. I see that you didn't place your pie dough in the fridge to chill before rolling it out. I'm afraid my dough would fall apart if I didn't chill it first. Also, yes, my family and I used to eat at El Rey Sol in Ensenada many times. However, I haven't been there in many years since moving away from San Diego. I'm afraid we're not brave enough to drive down there now by ourselves!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 29, 2020 at 2:31 pmhe wildflower shots are similar to the Anza Borrego desert, aren't they? I want to go there sometime. With this crust recipe, there is no need to chill – it holds together perfectly.
Jeff the Chef
January 29, 2020 at 4:22 amI love the desert in bloom! It's been so long since I've visited the southwest … your pictures give me wanderlust. Your pie gives me the strong desire to stay home, though, and do some baking!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 29, 2020 at 2:32 pmThanks, Jeff – we feel really fortunate to live among such beauty. Both your urges are good – travel and food!
Andrea_TheKitchenLioness
February 2, 2020 at 8:18 amDear David, what a stunner of a pie and what incredible photos! Unfortunately, there are no Meyer lemons to be had around here but I have read a lot about how to balance out citrus flavors (with lemon and orange juice) so that it comes close to the taste of those famous lemons.
Btw I love baking pies – although I must admit that I haven't quite baked them as frequently as I used to, I often chose cookies over pie (they are easier to transport to school 😉
Alles Liebe,
Andrea & Co.
Cocoa & Lavender
February 3, 2020 at 1:29 amA mixture of oranges and lemons would be perfect for this – as long as you can get rid of the thick pith! Let me know if you try i! Ganz liebe Grüße, David