Lemon Chess Pie

For the Crust

Preheat your oven to 400F and make sure you have a 9-inch pie dish handy.

In a food processor combine the flour, shredded coconut, and salt. Mix until the coconut shreds and flour are well combined.

Dice up your cold butter into cubes and then add to the food processor. Pulse until the dough comes together. It will first look like pieces of wet sand, once it gets to that stage, you can dump out the contents onto a lightly floured surface and knead it together until it forms a ball.

Gently roll out your dough, starting from the center outwards, applying even pressure. You will want to rotate your dough clockwise after every couple of passes to keep a circular shape. Keep turning and rolling your dough until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick or about the thickness of two quarters stacked on top of each other. Once you have the dough at the desired thickness, gently roll it onto your rolling pin to transfer it to your pie pan. Gently lay the dough onto your pie pan and press it into the bottom and the edges of the pan.

Prick the bottom of your pie crust with a fork 5-6 times. This will help keep the crust from puffing up too much. You can cut off any excess dough that is hanging off the side. You can crimp the edges or simply leave it as is, or make a decorative border by gently pressing the edges of a fork around the dish. Bake at 400F for 15-18 minutes, until the crust is a light golden color. Take out the oven and turn down the heat to 325F.

For the Filling

While the pie crust is baking you can begin to prepare your filling by whisking together the following ingredients until well combined and smooth: eggs, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, cornmeal, and salt. Pour the filling into the pie crust.

Bake for 40 minutes. The center will not be completely firm when you take it out. The top should have a light golden color but the center will still jiggle a bit. It will completely set as it cools.

Cool on a wire rack for 3 – 4 hours and then refrigerate until you are ready to serve it. While the pie bakes, you can prepare your berry sauce.

Berry Sauce

In a small saucepan, combine your berries, water and sugar. Once the berries begin to pop, add in the dissolved cornstarch. Mix well and keep heat at a simmer. Add in lemon juice. Keep the berry sauce at a simmer until it has reached your desired consistency. If needed add more water, 1 tbsp at a time. Can be served warm or cooled and stored in the fridge.