Enfield Shaker Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

Four Uneeda crackers rolled fine, pour over two cups of hot water, add one cup sugar. When cooled a little dissolve one tablespoon of cornstarch and one of flour with same liquid. Yolks of three eggs, reserving whites for frosting, a spoonful of butter, a little salt, and rind and juice of one lemon.

 

Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Grease an 9″ pie pan.

Place crackers in a plastic bag and using a rolling pin, roll them until finely crushed.

Put the crushed crackers in a saucepan. Add the sugar, cornstarch, flour and, salt and stir in the boiling water. Cover over medium heat, stirring constantly as the mixture heats, starts to thicken, and comes to a boil. Remove from heat.

Put the egg yolks in a small bowl. Stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into the yolks.

Return the hot yolk mixture to the saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. The filling should be very thick, almost like cooled pudding. Remove from heat.

Zest and juice the lemon.
Add the juice, zest, and butter to the hot filling mixture, stirring until the butter melts.

Spoon the filling into the greased pie pan.

Put the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl and beat until foamy.

With the beater going, add the granulated sugar, beating until the mixture holds a stiff peak; when you lift the beater out of the meringue, will stand straight up with just its top curling over.

Add the vanilla at the end.

Spoon the meringue atop the pie filling, smoothing it out to the edges of the pan.

Bake the pie for 8-10 minutes, until the meringue is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and cool for several hours before serving.

 

 

Kitchen-Tester’s Notes: In another Martha Wetherill lemon pie filling recipe, she detailed using Uneeda Biscuit crackers, so I’m assuming that’s what she would have used in this recipe. Uneeda Biscuit crackers are no longer made, thus the Goya Cracker substitution. Goya makes several kinds of crackers. Please note the photograph when purchasing the crackers.

This recipe first appeared in Shaker Recipes for Cooks and Homemakers, by William Lassiter (New York: Greenwich Book Publishers, 1959, p. 154) and is attributed to Sister Martha Wetherhill. Shaker Recipes for Cooks and Homemakers was reprinted by Bonanza Books in 1978 under the title Shaker Recipes and Formulas for Cooks and Homemakers. Both editions are out of print, but are available at reasonable cost at www.abebooks.com or www.eBay.com.