Lemon Chess Pie

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Make the filling first:

Whisk the eggs in a medium mixing bowl until smooth. Slowly whisk in the following ingredients in this order:

sugar (1 3/4 cups)
lemon juice and lemon zest, combined
cornmeal and salt, combined
melted, cooled, butter

Whisk until combined and smooth. Cover and set aside, stirring occasionally.

Prepare the crust:

Dock the pie crust well (poke crust all over, including sides, with a fork). Line the crust with aluminum foil and freeze for 35 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450ºF, position the oven rack in the upper center of the oven.

Remove pie crust from the freezer, place it on a cookie sheet and remove the foil. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, until the surface appears slightly puffed and dry (like a shortbread cookie!). Remove from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 325º.

Bake the pie:

Gently whisk the filling to recombine the ingredients. Pour filling into the hot pie crust, return to the 325ºF oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. The center should only jiggle slightly and the top should appear light brown when done (it will firm up as it cools).

Immediately sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Cool on a wire rack for about 4 hours. Refrigerate leftover pie covered in plastic wrap for up to 2 days.