Lemon Cloud Pie

A few months ago, I was looking for a light dessert to serve for a gathering that I was hosting. I came across a recipe in Taste Of Home for a “Refreshing Lemon Pie” that sounded fairly good but I thought I could make it even better!

The original used a Graham crumb crust, but I really like lemon and chocolate together so chose to make an Oreo crumb crust. I was also concerned that the filling wouldn’t be thick enough to really set well, so I added ½ package of cream cheese. Also the original did not use any light or calorie reduced products so I switched to light where I could.

Well, my guests thought it was wonderful! I’ve made it twice now and it gets rave reviews for being light and very lemony. This recipe is so quick and simpe. It is the perfect dessert for any summer of festive gathering! I was debating what to call this new creation and a friend suggested “Lemon Cloud Pie” Sounds delicious to me!!

Lemon Cloud Pie

Ingredients
• 1 ¼ cup Oreo/chocolate cookie crumbs
• ¼ cup margarine, melted
• 125g/4 oz light cream cheese, softened to room temp
• 1 can 300ml/10.5oz. light sweetened condensed milk
• 2 fresh lemons – medium size (or enough to make: 2 - 3 tablespoons freshly grated lemon peel and 1/2 cup lemon juice)
• 2 to 3 drops yellow food coloring, optional
• 1 500ml/2cups light frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

Combine crumbs and melted margarine in a small bowl. Press gently onto the bottom and up sides of a 9” pie plate – reserving about 2 Tablespoons crumb mixture for topping. Refrigerate pie crust while preparing filling.

Wash and dry the lemons, then grate the peel. Set the peel aside. Then juice the lemons and strain to remove any seeds. If necessary, top up the lemon juice to the ½ cup with bottled lemon juice.

With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the sweetened condensed milk and blend till smooth. Add the lemon juice, grated peel and about 3 drops of yellow food colouring; mix until smooth. The mixture will begin to thicken. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into crust. Garnish with reserved crumb mixture.

Cover lightly with saran and refrigerate for at least 3 hours of overnight before serving.

Yield: 6-8 servings. Refrigerate leftovers.

Tips:
-When you empty the can of sweetened condensed milk, there always seems to be some milk left in the can, so I took the strained lemon juice and poured it into the can. With a spoon or a scraper, stir along the bottom and edges to get the excess milk out. Then pour the juice and milk mixture in with the rest of the ingredients.
- Before putting saran over the finished dessert, I strategically place about six toothpicks around the edges, leaving about ½ inch sticking up out of the dessert. This way the saran does not ruin the look of the top of the dessert when you go to serve it. Just remember to pull out ALL of the toothpicks before serving!

Enjoy!

dn