Just so you know, this recipe took a wild turn from what I originally envisioned.
It started with this little tidbit from The Kitchen at the end of February, proclaiming Trader Joe's introduction of pink lemons into the world. Yesss, I thought, this would be so cute as pink lemon bars, or a pink lemon pie! But alas, my first visit to TJ's after seeing this article yielded no pink lemons, but did end up with my bringing home a bag of pink cara cara oranges. From there, time kind of went in a zoom and very slowly at the same time.
From the oranges purchase, I went on my mountain trip and the coronavirus was gathering steam and creating greater worry in the world. The oranges sat in a bowl in the kitchen. Time kept passing. We kept worrying about getting the virus having to go to work daily. I did go back to TJ's and I found those pink lemons, which I bought and plunked down in the bowl beside the oranges. Eventually, I realized the oranges were not going to wait, so one night as a distraction from the setting in horrors of the world, I used a hand juicer to take care of the citrus made the planned pink lemon pie with those oranges instead.
Orange pie
Ingredients
- 1 frozen pie shell
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed orange juice (~2 oranges)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- whipped cream to garnish
Instructions
- Thaw and prepare the pie shell for a filled pie, according to package directions.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and the eggs.
- Add the orange juice and melted butter, continue whisking until incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake at 375 F for 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 325 F and bake for 10 additional minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.
- Garnish with whipped cream if desired.
You may be wondering why I am using and advocating for a frozen pie shell, and it's because of this: I am not really a pie-y person, or a great crust maker. It takes a lot of fast work to keep the dough chilled, and a level of rolling skill that I don't feel I've achieved. My crust doughs often tear, leaving my pie vulnerable to the fillings seeping below the crust and making the whole thing soggy and unappealing. So I take the easy way out, using premade crusts, often in silver pie plates, to give myself a little bit of ease in a world that's often out to get us. Crust is totally doable, and plenty of people make some insane crust art, but I doubt that'll ever happen here. Give yourself some slack when it comes to food, we're all always going to have That One Thing We Suck At. What's yours?
Pass on the Pink Citrus
I think any citrus whose flavor you already enjoy would be lovely in this pie, and this fresh orangey bite combined with a buttery crust was a great way to end a meal. There's no need to source out fancy pink cara cara oranges, or pink lemons, or any pink citrus at all.
But let's talk about those pink lemons. Once I cut them open, I realized how not very pink their juice or flesh was. It was kind of disappointing, that had I followed through it still would have required some pink food coloring to make this pink lemon pie pink. Although looking at it now, the baking may have taken the pinkness and made it a really weird color, so this strange twist of events really turned out for the best.
Find more citrusy flavors in rosemary orange shortbread cookies, blood orange pound cake, and lemon bars with a chocolate crust.