Sweet Tea Pies with Lemon Whipped Cream

Almost everyone from the south loves sweet tea. I saw this pie over on Tasting Table and bookmarked it immediately. It's taken me a few months to get around to making it but it's a great pie that's different and fun. The pie itself has orange tea in it but you could probably use lemon. I thought the lemon whipped cream on the top added a nice touch though :). Pie is something I don't make to often although I'm not really sure why. I really like pie and my family loves pie, so maybe I will need to make it more. Summer is coming and more fruits are in season so maybe we will make some berry pies soon :).

This recipe will make three 4 1/2" pie dishes full of pie. I used these dishes but you can find little 4 1/2" pie dishes at lots of stores. I'm just a huge fan of individual desserts. Then there's no cutting or "he got a bigger piece than me", and it's quicker to serve because it's usually all ready for guests (sometimes even before they arrive). 

You could also probably line a 6 cup muffin pan with the pie dough and then bake the pies in there and have 6 tiny pies. I also wrote on the directions that you can make a 10" pie if you want to, you just need to double the recipe and bake the pie for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Feel free to ask if you have any questions and Happy Baking! :) This recipe was featured over on Cups By Kim! You should go check out all the other great features too! Then come back and make these of course :)

Sweet Tea Pie with Lemon Whipped Cream
Makes 3 4 ½” pies or about 6 cupcake sized pies

Ingredients:
Crust
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
½ stick plus ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, cold and diced into ½-inch cubes
2-3 tablespoons ice water

Filling
½ cup hot water
1 orange pekoe tea bags
1 ¼ tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon medium-grind cornmeal
⅓ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ¼ sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes
6 egg yolks
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Whipped cream & lemon or orange zest 

Directions:                                         
1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Using the paddle attachment on low speed, add the butter into the flour mixture, beating until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on, gradually add the ice water. Beat until a dough just forms.
2. Form the dough into a rough circle and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Remove the dough and set aside to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into 3 8-inch-rounds-and-¼-inch thick circle. Carefully place the doughs over the 6-inch pie pans with about 1 to 1 ½ inches of dough hanging over the edge. Press the dough over the edge and use a fork to crimp the rim of the crust. Refrigerate the dough while you prepare the filling.
4. Make the filling: Preheat the oven to 350° and move the rack to the center of the oven. In a coffee cup, pour the hot water over the tea bag. Set aside to brew for 5 minutes, then remove and discard the bags. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal and salt. Set aside. In a large, heatproof mixing bowl, whisk together the yolks and sugar. Whisk in the reserved tea and lemon juice. Whisk in the flour mixture.
5. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a simmer. Place the mixing bowl with the sweet-tea filling over the simmering water and add the butter in four batches, whisking until each batch is melted before adding the next batch. Pour the filling into the chilled pie shell and place in the oven on the center rack. Bake until the center jiggles but does not ripple and the top is a deep brown, 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes (cover the pie loosely with aluminum foil if it begins to brown too much). Remove the pie from the oven and set aside to rest at room temperature until cool. Refrigerate and serve cold or at room temperature.
If you would like to make a 10” pie then double the ingredients and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. 

Printable recipe (2 pages)

Recipe adapted from Tasting Table
 

This recipe may be linked up to:

· Inside BruCrew Life - Trick or Treat Tuesday's

· Crazy For Crust - Crazy Sweet Tuesday’s

· Mrs. Fox's Sweets - Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party

· A Pinch of Joy - Busy Monday Link Party 

· House of Hepworth's - Hookin up with HoH 

· Cups by Kim - Sweet & Simple Sunday  

· Couponing & Cooking - Mealtime Monday 

·  Grateful Belly - What's New Wednesday

· What's Cooking, Love? - Showcase Your Talent Thursday