Key Lime Margarita Pie Recipe

I have made this pie with regular lime juice and it is great. I have found another trick to make this recipe even better, by using key limes. You can find them at most grocery stores year round depending on which state you live in. However, if they are not available year round you can still use the regular limes and it will be a good recipe still. I have found if there is an item that I need if I ask the manager of the fruit and vegetable department they can sometimes bring in the items I need.

Ingredients you will need:

Crust:

1 1/4 cups of fine crushed Graham Crackers

1/2 cup of butter, melted

1/4 cup of sugar

Filling:

14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk

1-2 teaspoons of lime zest - grated lime peel- use a zest-er if you have one

1/2 cup of key lime juice, regular will work if key limes are not available to you

8 ounces of sweetened whipped heavy cream(add 3 teaspoons of sugar to the heavy cream), or cool whip topping, or another brand if you prefer. I use sweetened heavy cream and whip it into soft peaks. You can make this by using a whisk, a mixing bowl, and the heavy cream. Using the whisk briskly until you pull out the whisk fro the bowl, and there are what appear to be small mountains on it. Be careful not to whip to mush, as it will turn into butter.

Pie crust: First things first, we are going to make the crust for the Key Lime Margarita Pie. You will need two mixing bowls for making this recipe. In the first bowl the ingredients for the crusts are going into this bowl. You will combine all of the ingredients in the bowl, and incorporate all of the butter and sugar into the crushed Graham crackers. Make sure that it is mixed very well. You will then take your well mixed crust and add it to your 9" pie tin, and press down onto the bottom, and up the sides, too. Make sure it is even in the pie tin, to ensure even cooking.

Pie Filling: This is where your second mixing bowl comes in. First you will need to use your zest-er and get 1-2 teaspoons of your lime zest. You can make more zest than needed for garnish after your pie is completed. Second you will cut up your key limes and juice them. Then you will need to add your condensed milk, lime juice, and zest and mix. You will then add your whipped heavy cream or, cool whip topping. You will need to fold this in gently. After it is mixed well you will add all of the mixture into the graham cracker crust pie tin. You will need to refrigerate this pie until it is completely chilled. Depending on your refrigerator it could take 1-2 hours.

If you are feeling like you want to add a little flare and you have a pipe bag, and a tip. You can pipe out some whipped cream in a design around your Margarita pie, and add some lime zest to make it look very elegant. It will be fine without the extra whipped cream, and you can just add some lime zest to each piece before you serve it. I hope that you enjoy this tart, but sweet recipe. Enjoy!

Chef Shelley Pogue, a Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and Executive Research and Development Chef, for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA.