Lemon Chiffon pie

I must stop commenting how far behind I am.  It is the new norm for my blog.  I'm going to be surprised when I'm actually caught up.  :)  This particular recipe is still up in my browser from Father's day last sunday.  (as is my next post which was the dinner I made.)  Brandon actually picked peach crisp, but then I had to make a pie for church, and he picked lemon chiffon.  I had him buy graham cracker crusts because I had forgotten to make the pie until the last minute, and he bought 2 along with 2 bags of large lemons, so I made 2.  Now I have to remember what I changed.  :)  Pretty sure it was just the amount of lemon zest.  I like a lemony pie.
This was the first time I had made this type of pie, and I found the instructions on allrecipes to be a bit vague for my liking.  I'll try to add detail.
I had thought this would be a simple pie, but it was a bit involved.  However, that was fine. What wasn't fine was  the horrible lemons we got - tons of skin making them hard to squeeze.  Then when we almost had our cup full of juice, it got knocked over by a hubby trying to be helpful.  Not a delightful time, but the pie got made and didn't have to bake in the oven, and it turned out delicious, and we had one for home and one for church, so I guess it was still a win.  I'm writing instructions for 1 pie.  It works fine to double and make 2 at a time as well.

Ingredients

• 1 .25 oz package unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

Directions

1. Soften gelatin in water 5 minutes.  
2. Meanwhile in the top of a double boiler, beat egg yolks.  Add sugar, lemon juice and salt.  Cook stirring constantly until of custard consistency (this was when it thickened, but not super thick - maybe like a thin gravy - I expected it to get thicker and worried that it wouldn't turn out, but it did.)  Remove from heat and add grated lemon zest and softened gelatin and stir thoroughly.  Cool
3. When mixture begins to get thick, (It won't be super thick - again, I was waiting for pudding texture or something and worried that it wasn't going to work - basically when mixture is cooler and a bit thicker) In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until stiff, adding remaining 1/2 cup sugar while whipping.  Fold egg whites into custard.
4. Pour filling into pie shell and chill in the refrigerator.  Serve when firm.  (I chilled mine overnight.  It firmed up great and was wonderful - light and airy with a great lemon flavor.)