Key Lime Meringue Pie
Ingredients
For Crust
- 9 5- by 2 ½ -inch graham crackers broken into small pieces
- 1 cup sliced or slivered almonds
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
For Filling
- 2 14- ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
- Grated zest of 2 key limes
- 1 cup fresh Key lime juice from about 2 pounds fresh Key limes*
- 4 large egg yolks reserve the whites for meringue
For Meringue
- 4 egg whites room temperature
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch pie plate.
- Pulse together graham crackers, almonds, and sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl and stir in butter. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and up side of pie plate. Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely. (Leave oven on.)
- Gently whisk together filling ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth and pour into crust. Bake until just set in center, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar together. Add in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and whip until the meringue holds stiff peaks and looks glossy. Whip in the vanilla extract. Spread meringue on top of the pie and if desired, use a kitchen torch to brown the top of the meringue. Keep refrigerated.
Notes
*I used one got the cup of juice from 1 pound of Key Limes. I cut the limes in half and used a garlic press to squeeze all the juice out. Worked like a charm!
