From Martha Hall Foose as seen in “The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook” (The University of Georgia Press, 2011.)
Ingredients
For crust:
3 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
For filling:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
8 large egg yolks
3/4 cup warm, freshly brewed, strong orange pekoe tea
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple-cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornmeal
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For crust, mix cream cheese and butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until well-combined. Add flour and mix at low speed until the dough comes together into a ball. Pat the dough evenly into a 9-inch pie pan, building a thicker top edge. Place the pie shell in the freezer while preparing the filling.
Beat butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in zest. Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping the bowl often. Slowly add tea, vanilla, vinegar and lemon juice.
Add flour and cornmeal. Scrape the bowl and mix well. Don’t be alarmed if the mixture looks slightly curdled.
Remove pie shell from freezer and pour in the filling. Bake until only a quarter-sized area in the center jiggles slightly when the pie is shaken gently, about 50 minutes. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack and then chill at least 2 hours before serving.
