Recipe: Sam's Sunshine Lemon Pie

This is hands down my favorite lemon pie. There are two reasons it is my favorite, the first is that this is simply the best tasting lemon pie I've ever had. The second reason is that my son Sam came up with the recipe for a cub scout cook-off (he won), and he did it pretty much all on his own. The recipe is time-consuming, but oh so worth the effort. It combines lemon curd and macaroons for a fantastic pie. You won't be sorry you made it!

Crust:

• 4 egg whites (save the yolks for the filling)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 8 oz bag sweetened coconut
• dash of salt

Beat the eggs until foamy, add salt and continue beating. Beat while adding sugar until medium peaks form. Gently fold in coconut. Press macaroon dough into a greased pie pan. Bake at 350 until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Cool. If there is any remaining macaroon dough, bake as cookies, on a greased parchment sheet, until lightly browned. Small macaroons can be placed on top of the pie.

Filling:

• 4 whole eggs
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons lemon zest

Combine butter, sugar and lemon juice in a double boiler over simmering water. Heat until all the sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently. Beat eggs and yolks until light and creamy yellow. Slowly add some of the hot syrup to the eggs while stirring constantly, until about 1/2 of the syrup has been incorporated into the eggs. Return egg and syrup mixture to the double boiler. (This step is key, if you add the eggs directly to the syrup you will have scrambled eggs in syrup!) Stir constantly until a swirl will hold its shape in the lemon curd. Remove from heat, stir in the lemon zest. Cool and pour into the prepared crust. Allow to completely cool in fridge. Top with whipped cream and macaroons.