Salted Margarita Pie

Have you noticed that I complain a lot about the weather? If you haven’t, then brace yourself, because I’ve got a whole lot of sweaty anger heading your way. Let me first say that I am not a fan of summer. All of the other seasons suit me just fine, but summer, no. It’s not that I don’t attempt to get into the spirit of things, I do. I plant things and eagerly watch them grow, I get outside and grill, I dine alfresco as often as possible, and I try, I really, really try to enjoy that season. But the fact is, I don’t. I particularly don’t this year when we went straight from January into the middle of August, temperature-wise. We hit the 90° mark in early May and have not left it since. Hot weather makes me crabby. I don’t mind the cold, there’s always more that I can put on to warm up in winter, as I’m sipping boozy cocoa in front of a cheery fire, reading a good book. In summer, well, there’s only so much you can take off before somebody reports you to the police.

Where am I going with this, you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you. Many margaritas have been consumed in this house since early May. Generally, that’s a drink I reserve for Mexican restaurants in late August, but now, I keep a pitcher of them at the ready in the fridge. I have come to enjoy that citrus-y goodness so much that I decided to turn it into a cool and refreshing pie.

There are a lot of recipes around for Margarita Pie, and I studied those before I came up with this one. My new favorite crust, for just about anything that calls for a crumb crust, is pretzel. I love the sweet and salty combination, and it works beautifully here. I also decided that most of the margarita pie recipes didn’t have enough alcohol in them to suit me, so I upped that a bit as well. I also added the zest of a lime, and what margarita doesn’t have salt on it? So I added that as well. Here is my version of Margarita Pie. It is cool, and refreshing, and somehow makes summer seem not quite as miserable as it really is.

One thing to note -- I piped whipped cream on top of this pie before putting it into the freezer to make it attractive, and because, who doesn’t love whipped cream? But, I would not do this again. It was clearly a matter of form over function because, with its lack of alcohol content, the whipped cream freezes firmer than does the pie. Therefore, while the pie is ready to consume straight out of the freezer, the whipped cream is not. I sent two pieces of pie home with my number one son the other day so that he and his wife could try it out. (I love having taste testers.) They loved the pie, but Christopher, my son, said that he didn’t wait for the whipped cream to soften; he just plucked pieces off and ate them separately from the pie. So, let this be a warning to you. If you plan to top your pie with whipped cream, don’t freeze that cream with the pie, dollop it on separately.

Salted Margarita Pie

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups crushed pretzels

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup of freshly squeezed key lime juice
2 ounces tequila
1 ounce triple sec
1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
4-6 drops green food coloring (optional)
2 cups whipped cream
Fleur de sel,* for garnish
Whipped Cream, for garnish
Lime zest, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Put the pretzels into the work bowl of a food processor and pulse until they have been reduced to fine crumbs. Add sugar and melted butter, and pulse until combined. Press into a nine-inch pie pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together condensed milk, lime juice, tequila, triple sec, zest, and food coloring (if desired). In a separate bowl whip cream to stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream into filling mixture. Pour into pie crust and freeze for a minimum of 4 hours.

Serve topped with whipped cream, a sprinkling of lime zest, and a sprinkling of fleur de sel.

*If you don’t have Fleur de sel you can use margarita salt.

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If you prefer to enjoy your key lime juice in cheesecake form, then you must try this mouthwatering Key Lime Cheesecake.

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Key Lime Cheesecake

As a rule, I am not a cheesecake person. It's not that I don't like cheesecake, I do, but when it comes to making it, I generally leave that up to Mr. O-P who has a recipe for a cheesecake that just melts in your mouth. This week, however, I had a hankering for cheesecake, and not just any cheesecake, but one that would be laden with citrus, lime, to be exact, and not just any limes, but Key limes.

I set to work squeezing each and every one of them with my little handheld citrus squeezer that is worth its weight in gold, until I had a half cup of the fragrant juice. Prior to squeezing I scrubbed the limes, and zested two of them until I had a healthy teaspoon of fresh lime zest.

I adapted a recipe for a basic cheesecake into what you see below. This recipe is a real keeper. I served it for dessert on St. Patrick's Day drizzled with a light green tinted white chocolate. Everyone was expecting basic cheesecake, but their eyes grew wide and moans of utter delight escaped their lips when they tried this one. I will make this again and again and maybe, just maybe, will try to create an orange (read: Creamsicle) version.

Key Lime Cheesecake

14 whole graham crackers

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup sugar

3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1 bag of Melissa’s key limes (or 1/2 cup fresh key lime juice)

1 teaspoon lime zest

3 extra-large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Make crust by combining graham crackers and sugar in a food processor. Drizzle in butter while motor is running; pulse to thoroughly combine. Press crumbs into bottom and halfway up sides of an 8-inch springform pan. Bake 5 minutes, remove from oven, and set aside.

Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla, and beat until smooth and creamy. Add lime juice, zest, and eggs, and continue to beat until smooth and creamy. Pour into graham cracker crust. Bake 60 to 70 minutes until top turns light brown. Cool completely and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours (overnight is best). When completely chilled, remove pan sides. Slice into 8 equal slices and serve. 

This post is  linked to:

Tweak It Tuesday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tasty Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

Kickin' Key Lime Pie

The key lime is a wonderful thing.  Small and aromatic, with a thin rind and unique flavor, it makes an excellent filling for pie. During the warm summer months, this is one dessert that I crave, so I'm always happy to have a bag of key limes from Melissa's Produce. I have found, over the years, that squeezing a bag of key limes, without fail, yields 3/4 cup of juice. My pie recipe calls for 1 cup of juice. In the past I have made up the difference with bottled juice (Horrors!  But true.), but this time I was determined to stay off of the bottle and use something else. 

While squeezing the limes I kept asking myself just what pairs well with lime? The answer came almost immediately (and I'm not quite sure just exactly what this says about me) - Tequila!  Of course!  So when the bag of limes yielded the expected 3/4 cup of juice, I made up the difference with 1/4 cup of Tequila. Ho, boy, this is what I call pie! Tart and sweet, with a slight kick of Tequila that made for a unique and delicious dessert. You will love this!

Kickin' Key Lime Pie

2 cans Sweetened Condensed Milk

3/4 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice

1/4 cup Tequila

1 tablespoon lime zest (zest before squeezing)

4 yolks from extra-large eggs

1 graham cracker crust (to which you may or may not add 1 teaspoon of lime zest)

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Lime zest for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, lime juice, tequila, zest, and egg yolks. Pour into the pre-baked graham cracker shell. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool. Once cool, cover loosely and refrigerate for 12-24 hours. Just before serving, whip cream to stiff peaks, slowly adding the sugar. Pipe decoratively onto pie and garnish with lime zest.

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Social Sunday 

Sunday’s Best

Key Lime Parfaits

Remember all of those key limes that I juiced and zested here?  They came in very handy when I needed a quick, delicious, and seasonal dessert for a summer lunch. It’s times like these when I’m grateful for my husband’s hoarding habits, particularly when it comes to issues of Gourmet Magazine and Bon Appétit.  This recipe hails from the latter and dates back to 1999.  Lime and citrus lovers will go crazy!

Key Lime Parfaits

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon grated lime peel
1 cup chilled whipping cream

Melt butter in heavy small skillet over medium heat. Mix in sugar and stir until bubbling, about 1 minute. Mix in crumbs; stir until color deepens, about 3 minutes. Turn out onto plate and cool.

Stir condensed milk, lime juice and lime peel in large bowl to blend (mixture will thicken). Using electric mixer, beat cream in medium bowl until firm peaks form; fold into lime mixture.

Place 1/4 cup lime mousse in each of six 8- to 10-ounce wine goblets. Top each with 1 tablespoon crumb mixture, then 1/4 cup mousse. Top parfaits with remaining crumb mixture. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

NOTE:  I drizzled mine with blackberry syrup and garnished with a spritz of whipped cream, slice of lime, and lime zest.

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Sweets for a Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Zesting Key Limes

Summer is citrus season and those tempting bags of key limes are beginning to show up at area markets.  I am mad about all things citrus, so I buy up as many of these emerald beauties as I can before the season is behind us, and I suggest that you do the same.  Here’s a quick little tip for you that has served me well over the years.  When key limes come into season, zest and juice them.  Measure out the juice in full and half cup measurements and freeze the juice.  It easily keeps for 6 to 8 months in the freezer, so you can have a fresh, delicious key lime pie in the dead of winter.  As for the zest, measure it out by the teaspoon.  Fill each well of an ice cube tray with a teaspoon of zest, fill with water and freeze.  The next time you need lime zest for a recipe, remove as many cubes as you need, place them on a plate that has been covered with a doubled paper towel and allow to melt.  Once the ice has gone, you will have a lovely little mound of fresh tasting zest!

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Seasonal Sunday

On the Menu Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

Wow Us Wednesday

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