Shaker Lemon Pie

Shaker Lemon Pie is the best spring pie with a lemony custard perfect for Easter! Easy pie recipe using whole lemons, sugar, and eggs in a flaky pie crust. 

Fresh fruit pies like Blueberry Pie are the perfect dessert to serve as spring flowers start blooming. There are so many beautiful and delicious Pie Recipes that would make perfect Easter desserts.

Shaker Lemon Pie slice on plate

SHAKER LEMON PIE

Also known as an Ohio Lemon Pie, Shaker Lemon Pie is an old fashioned pie recipe from a time where being frugal was a way of life for most Midwestern families. Using whole lemons and few everyday pantry items like eggs and sugar, they were able to have a rich yet simple pie all spring long.

Shaker Lemon Pie is a bright citrus pie bursting with lemony goodness and has a texture that’s like a cross between lemon curd and marmalade. This Shaker Lemon Pie recipe use just sugar, lemons, eggs, and a bit of flour. Other pie recipes add melted butter, but this recipe is closer to the original Ohio Shaker simplistic traditions.

This sweet and tart Shaker Lemon Pie is perfect for spring gatherings, picnics, and will look beautiful on an Easter table. It’s light and refreshing, which after a heavy meal is just what you need! Serve warm Shaker Lemon Pie with homemade Whipped Cream or Vanilla Ice Cream for the best spring dessert!

Many Shaker Lemon Pie recipes use a double crust, but this version allows you to see the gorgeous thinly sliced lemon filling. After filling your pie crust, use small tongs to neatly arrange the top lemon slices in a more circular pattern for a prettier pie. Crimp pie crust edges and brush with egg whites to give them crunch and shine.

Shaker Lemon Pie lemons in sugar

Old fashioned Shaker Lemon Pie takes a little bit of prep work but the beautiful, fresh lemony flavor that you get is so worth it. For the softest lemon rinds, let the sliced lemons sit in the sugar for at least 12 hours and up to a whole day. Stir the lemon sugar mixture occasionally and pick out any seeds. 

MORE DELICIOUS, CLASSIC FRUIT PIES

HOW TO MAKE SHAKER LEMON PIE

  • Prepare the lemons: Use a mandoline slicer to get really thin lemon slices. If you freeze your lemons ahead of time, you can get your lemon slices super thin. Remember to give your lemon rinds time to fully soften in the sugar – be patient and don’t rush your filling.
  • Pre-bake the crust: Blind bake your bottom crust before filling. Cover entire unfilled crust with foil and weigh down with dried beans and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. 
  • Baking the pie: To keep your pie crust from burning, either tent the pie with tin foil halfway through baking or create a foil ring to cover the pie crust edges.

Shaker Lemon Pie in pie plate, unbaked

VARIATIONS ON SHAKER LEMON PIE

    • Meyer Lemons: Use the lemon-mandarin hybrid, Meyer Lemons when they are in season (they are much cheaper in season). These special lemons are a bit sweeter, so you may not need as much sugar depending on your sweet tooth. 
    • Brown Sugar: Replace 1 cup sugar with 1 cup light brown sugar to give a sweeter, caramel flavor to the lemon mixture.
    • Blackberries: Blackberries and blueberries go so well with lemons. Top your pie with a blackberry simple syrup or fold in a handful of fresh berries to your lemony filling.
    • Ginger: Add some grated or thinly sliced fresh ginger to your lemon mixture while it sits overnight to give your Shaker Lemon Pie a spicy, gingery flavor.
    • Orange Pie: Make a Shaker Orange Pie by replacing the lemons with oranges with thin rinds. If the rinds are too thick, try zesting the oranges before thinly slicing.
    • Double Crust Pie: To make a double crust Shaker Lemon Pie, use an additional pie crust and cut steam vents into the top crust. Bake at 450 for the first 15 minutes, reduce to 375 degrees and bake for another 20-25 minutes.

DELICIOUS FRUIT DESSERTS:

HOW TO STORE SHAKER LEMON PIE

  • Serve: Shaker Lemon Pie is best served at room temperature and can be kept out for up to 2 hours.
  • Store: Cover your Shaker Lemon Pie tightly with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Bring to room temperature by setting on the counter for 15-20 minutes.
  • Freeze: Make sure pie is completely cooled before freezing. Tightly cover and seal in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Ohio Shaker Lemon Pie baked in pie plate top-down

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Shaker Lemon Pie slice on plate
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Shaker Lemon Pie

Shaker Lemon Pie is the best spring pie with a lemony custard perfect for Easter! Easy pie recipe using whole lemons, sugar, and eggs in a flaky pie crust.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Shaker Lemon Pie
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Lemon Mixture Resting Time 12 hours
Total Time 13 hours 5 minutes
Servings 12 servings
Calories 231 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 2 medium lemons
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 pie crust
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons flour

Instructions

  1. Trim the ends of your lemons until you can see the flesh. You don't want to use the ends in the pie.
  2. Slice the lemons as thinly as you can, a mandoline slicer is best for this.

  3. If you want an easier to slice pie, you can coarsely chop the thin lemon slices.

  4. Mix the lemons with sugar and let sit overnight (12 hours is even better).

  5. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.
  6. Prepare a pie plate with the pie crust.

  7. Mix the lemon mixture with the eggs and flour.
  8. Pour it evenly into the pie crust and bake for 45-50 minutes (cover with foil if your pastry or the tops of the lemons are browning too much).

Nutrition Facts
Shaker Lemon Pie
Amount Per Serving
Calories 231 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Cholesterol 70mg23%
Sodium 85mg4%
Potassium 65mg2%
Carbohydrates 43g14%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 34g38%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 102IU2%
Vitamin C 10mg12%
Calcium 18mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Shaker Lemon Pie collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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