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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