MRS. BUTTERBANKS
“Eat butter first, and eat it last, and live till a hundred years be past.” — Old Dutch Proverb
This pie is one of my all-time favorites. It’s creamy and tart and frankly, I’d probably eat a shoe if it was served on a buttery graham cracker crust. Now, I do admit that I’ve been on quite the citrus kick lately, but with Springtime here, lemon anything just feels right. You can serve this with whipped cream, but it’s fantastic just on its own. Happy Spring!
Crust:
2 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted
Or you can use one ready-made 9-inch graham cracker crust; however, when you make it from scratch, there’s more butter involved, which personally makes me happy.
Filling:
1 5-oz can evaporated milk
1 3.4-oz box of instant lemon pudding mix, (the small box)
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
¾ cup frozen lemonade concentrate
Preheat oven to 350° if making your own crust.
In a medium mixing bowl, combined all crust ingredients and whisk together until well combined. Press graham cracker crust into a greased 9” deep dish pie dish and make sure to go up the sides. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the evaporated milk and the pudding mix and whisk/beat for 2 minutes (the mixture will be thick).
In a separate mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Slowly mix in the lemonade concentrate. After it’s well combined, mix in the pudding mixture. Pour the filling into the cooled graham cracker crust. Cover and place in the fridge for 3-4 hours to set. Don’t forget to lick the spatula though:)
Gluten Free Variation
Now for those who are gluten-free, they do sell gluten-free graham crackers to use for the crust. As far as the pudding mix goes, I’ve found that the mix made by Kraft (Jell-O brand) is gluten-free. Non-brand names may not be the same, so check the ingredients first.