Cajun Lemon Sweet Dough Pies

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.

In a standing electric mixer, beat butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in milk and vanilla extract (the batter will appear curdled).

With mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture a little at a time until it forms a dough.

Halve the dough and form each piece into a disk.

Chill the dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 3 hours.

Cut twenty‑four 6‑inch squares of wax paper.

Roll out one piece of dough between two sheets of plastic wrap into a 12‑inch round, about 1/8 inch thick.

Cut out six rounds with a 5‑inch round cutter, sandwich each round between two squares of wax paper, and stack on a baking sheet. If the dough becomes too soft to work with, transfer it to a baking sheet and chill until firm.

Roll out and cut the remaining piece of dough in the same manner, sandwiching rounds between the remaining squares of wax paper, and stack on a baking sheet.

Chill the rounds until firm and wrap each stack carefully with plastic wrap to prevent drying.

Make the filling: whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in water and milk until the cornstarch is dissolved.

In a bowl, whisk together the yolks.

Cook the milk mixture over moderate heat, whisking, until it comes to a boil.

Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture into the remaining hot milk mixture.

Bring the custard to a slow boil, whisking, for 1 minute.

Remove the pan from heat and whisk in butter, lemon juice, and zest until the butter is melted.

Cover the surface of the filling with plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly butter two baking sheets.

Discard the top square of wax paper from one dough round and spoon 1 tablespoon of filling onto the center of the round.

Using wax paper, fold the dough over to form a half circle, enclosing the filling, and press the edges together lightly.

Transfer the pie to a baking sheet, discarding the paper, and crimp the edge with a fork. Prick the pie with a fork once.

Repeat with the remaining dough rounds and filling to make 11 more pies.

Bake the pies in two batches in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges (the dough will crack open slightly).

Transfer the pies to racks to cool.

Serve the pies chilled or at room temperature (do not let them stand more than 30 minutes at room temperature).