The Power of Pie

An intense craving for a slice of my mom’s famous Lemon Icebox Pie — the recipe I’m pretty sure was on the side of the Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk can in the 1950s — ignited a weekend of trying to achieve the taste held in my memory.
 

It took six pies to get the crust, meringue, and taste just right. But the real bonus was remembering how this particular pie is a lesson in empowerment.
 

Everyone in my family has memories of my mom’s Lemon Icebox Pie. But Mama wasn’t the only one I remember making the pie.
 

One Saturday morning, after a particularly busy work week, my parents were in bed drinking coffee and watching the news. They enjoyed the respite before a full day of work at home: mowing, weeding, and, if there was time, sanding and staining rocking chairs for our porch. But first, my dad had a craving. He turned to Mama and said, “I would just love one of your Lemon Ice Box Pies.” She leaped from the bed and ran downstairs. Daddy could hear noises in the kitchen.

“Oh my God,” he thought, “she’s making me a pie right now at seven in the morning! She must really love me!” Then, he heard Mama coming back upstairs. But she wasn’t carrying a freshly made pie. She walked in, tossed a recipe card that landed on his chest, and said, “It’s really easy to make.”
 

My mom was known for her droll sense of humor. I laugh every time this story is recounted.

If you are wondering whether he made the pie that weekend, well, yes, of course, he did. Even in the ‘70s, my parents were progressive in understanding household roles. The minute the card hit his chest, he knew he’d be in the kitchen without complaint.
 

At age 8, I grasped the subtext. My mom was also known for her strong sense of self and purpose. That included aspirations far beyond our kitchen. My dad loved her for this; more than that, he respected her for it. The lesson for me was clear: I could reach goals despite my gender.
 

I observed another truth, too: If my dad could pull o! my mom’s famous desserts, then so could I. I never made that particular pie growing up, but it wasn’t long before I was experimenting with my recipes in the kitchen.
 

Dad continued to make the pie occasionally over the years, though he admits Mama was still the real Lemon Icebox Pie maker in the family. Before heading to the grocery store to pick up ingredients, I called my dad to get the scoop on making Mama’s Lemon Icebox Pie.
 

“I did make the pie that day and occasionally over the years. However, Mama remained the go-to person for the pie. Sometimes, if she were busy with work or traveling, I would make them.”

The meringue topping was different, though.

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“I did not make the meringue that day and rarely did. Mama often coached me when I made it, but she almost always had to salvage it because I never got the hang of it. When she was away and I made one, I made it without the meringue,” Dad confessed.
 

The pie is a throwback from my mom’s childhood. It was aptly named for its citrus flavor and where it was stored: in the icebox, a precursor to electric refrigerators. Mama’s pie was crave-worthy. My dad liked it so much that he often requested it for his birthday.
 

Lemon Icebox Pie is not to be confused with Lemon Meringue pie, which has a stovetop-cooked custard filling, whereas Lemon Icebox Pie is made with sweetened condensed milk filling. I am not sure it is traditionally baked, but with current food safety knowledge, it is baked briefly before being stored in the refrigerator. My parents are from Alabama — where, my dad says, topping Lemon Icebox Pie with meringue is non-negotiable.
 

“It’s a Southern thing,” he shared. But Mama did experiment with the topping from time to time. “She sometimes made homemade whipped cream for the topping.” Please note the operative word “homemade.” Another non-negotiable, according to my mom, was always to use only real whipped cream. Nothing from a tub or can would ever do.
 

“In later years, she often served it with strawberries as a topping and a drizzle of strawberry ‘sauce.’ I’m not a fan of strawberries, but this was delicious,” Dad said. Other than the topping, my dad says the recipe is simple to make. “It is just as easy as she said it would be.”
 

I asked my dad if he had any tips for making the pie. He laughed and said no but did add a few notes. “Mama often used the large graham pie shell, which means you have to recalculate the ingredients. We thought using the regular-size pie shell made for a ‘skimpy’ pie.”
 

I don’t remember my mom making Lemon Icebox Pie, but I remember the result. Seeing the thin, disposable, aluminum-tinned pie plate on the counter, topped with peaks of golden meringue and hints of gleaming yellow around the edges, is a beacon of happiness and comfort.

Or even better, opening the fridge the next day to discover that miraculously, there is one last piece in the tin, meringue weeping and sagging slightly into the yellow filling. It feels victorious to discover there is still a bit more sunshine to be had.
 

Recreating this pie repeatedly, I did more than satisfy my craving. Woven into the fluffy meringue and the sweet, creamy filling was a message sent through space and time from my mom, applauding boundaries broken — in the kitchen and in life.
 

Lemon Icebox Pie

Mary Adelia McLeod

My mom always used pre-made graham cracker crust. Those are dependable and easy. I prefer homemade when I have time. Either works great.

I added cream of tartar to the meringue from my mom’s recipe. I wasn’t able to achieve airy peaks without it.
 

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 12 full graham cracker sheets)

6 tablespoons salted butter, melted

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
 

*If you buy a pie crust, buy a 9-inch one if the store doesn’t have an 8-inch. This recipe makes a small pie by today’s standards.
 

PIE FILLING INGREDIENTS:
1 can or 15 oz Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c fresh lemon juice
2-3 tsp grated lemon rind (zest) depending on how tart you prefer your pie 2 egg yolks, save whites

MERINGUE INGREDIENTS:
2 room-temperature egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 c sugar
 

TO MAKE THE CRUST: Preheat oven to 350 F.
 

Use a food processor or blender to grind graham crackers into fine crumbs, then place them in a zip-top bag and crush them into very fine crumbs with a rolling pin.
 

Stir the graham cracker crumbs and sugar together in a medium bowl, and then stir in the melted butter. Add a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter.
 

Pour the mixture into an un-greased 8-inch, 9-inch, or 10-inch pie dish. Pat the crumbs down into the bottom and up the sides to make a compact crust. Do not pack down with heavy force because that makes the crust too hard. Simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumby/crumbly. I prefer to use a sheet of plastic wrap and the bottom of a cup to pat the crust into shape.
 

Bake for 12 minutes. Cool slightly.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, blend yolks. Add milk, lemon juice, and lemon peel, and blend until thickened. Turn into pie shell and bake for 15-20 minutes until filling is set around the edges, and slightly jiggly in the middle.
 

Allow to cool for 30 minutes. Cover and put in the refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight.

TO MAKE THE MERINGUE: Preheat oven to 350 F.
 

Whip egg whites on highest mixer setting until egg whites are foamy. Continue whipping while slowly adding sugar. Whip, until whites are glossy and sti! peaks are achieved.

Spread onto chilled pie, covering filling to the edges (although I don’t think my mom ever did this).
 

Bake for 10-15 minutes until the meringue is golden with toasted edges. Allow to cool for about an hour or more. Enjoy.
 

Double Lemon Icebox Pie

Adapted by Margaret McLeod Leef from Mary Adelia McLeod
 

My family regarded the regular Lemon Icebox Pie as a bit small by today’s standards. But as my dad noticed, this recipe can’t be exactly doubled and still have the right taste and consistency. If you want a bigger, more dramatic pie, use this recipe. I use a 9-inch pie plate, but a 10-inch would work fine. The graham cracker crust recipe works for this “doubled” recipe as is.

PIE FILLING INGREDIENTS:
2 14-oz. cans of sweetened condensed milk
5 large egg yolks
2-3 tsp grated lemon rind (zest) depending on how tart you prefer your pie 1 cup fresh lemon juice juice
 

MERINGUE INGREDIENTS:
5 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Scant 1/2 cup sugar
 

PIE FILLING INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 F
 

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, blend yolks. Add milk, lemon juice, and lemon peel, and blend until thickened. Turn into pie shell and bake for 15-20 minutes until filling is set around the edges, and slightly jiggly in the middle.
 

Allow to cool for 30 minutes. Cover and put in the refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight.

MERINGUE INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350.

Whip egg whites on the highest mixer setting until egg whites are foamy. Continue whipping while slowly adding sugar. Whip, until whites are glossy and sti! peaks are achieved.

Spread onto the chilled pie, covering filling to the edges. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the meringue is golden with toasted edges.
 

Allow to cool for about an hour or more. Enjoy.