Layered Lemon Pies

I made this for home fellowship. I love lemon-flavored things, and this recipes makes 2 pies, so perfect for a big gathering like home fellowship. This recipe is a LOT more work than what I usually do, but, like I said, I love lemon. So. This is from the Feb/March 2010 Taste of Home. I am definitely seeing that TOH recipes are more time-consuming than the Simple & Delicious ones. That must be why they came up with a second magazine for those types of recipes. This lemon pie recipe wasn't more difficult to do, just more time consuming. Like, do this, and chill. Do this, and cool. Do this, and chill. So it just took longer overall.

Layered Lemon Pies
Pastry for 2 single-crust pies (9 in)
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups cold water
3 egg yolks, beaten
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp lemon extract
3 drops yellow food coloring, optional
Second layer:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups cold milk
2 pkg instant lemon pudding mix
Topping:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
16 oz carton cool whip, thawed

Line 2 9-inch pie plates with pastry, trim and flute edges. Line unpricked pastry with a double thickness of heavy duty foil. Bake at 450 for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5-7 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in the lemon juice, butter, lemon peel, extract, and food coloring. Cool to room temperature without stirring. Spread lemon mixture into crusts. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually beat in milk. Add pudding mix; beat 2 minutes longer. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Gently spread on top of first layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set.

For topping, in large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in cool whip. Spread over tops of pies. Refrigerate until set.

Well. Let me tell you. These were FABULOUS. I love lemon pie. When I was making these, I was thinking, these better be really good or I'm not doing all this again. Well they were really good. I took a bite and said "OH it's so good!" and Becky laughed at me. All the adults liked it, and a couple of the kids tried it, Sam included, and he said "it was pretty good." So this is definitely a keeper!!