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In Case You’re Craving Pie, Here’s The Recipe for Key Lime Pie from the Author of The Key Lime Crime

Obviously, we cannot launch a book called The Key Lime Crime without a recipe for key lime pie. My husband, John, and I tasted at least a dozen pies during the writing of this book. I also took a lesson on pie-making at the Key West Key Lime Pie Company.

Here’s the recipe.

The Key Lime Crime Key Lime Pie

by Lucy Burdette

For the Crust

Ingredients

• 10 sheets of graham crackers,

about 1 ¼ cups when crushed

• 5 tablespoons butter, melted

• ¼ cup sugar

Directions:

Whir the graham crackers in a food processor until they make fine crumbs. Mix in the sugar and the butter. Press the mixture using the back of a spoon into a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Nine is probably better as my pie was a little low. Bake the crust at 350 for 10 minutes until it starts to brown. Remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 325.

For the Filling

Ingredients

• ½ cup key lime or lime juice, freshly squeezed

• 4 egg yolks

• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

• 2 teaspoons grated lime zest

Directions:

Squeeze the limes until you have ½ cup of juice. You’ll need about 4 to 5 regular limes, and more if using key limes, depending on their size. Strain out the seeds.

Whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and lime zest.

Add the filling to the pie crust and bake for six minutes. Remove from the oven and set this aside while you make your meringue.

For the Meringue

Ingredients

• Four egg whites

• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

• ½ cup sugar

• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Using a clean bowl and mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until they hold soft peaks. Gradually beat in the sugar until the egg whites hold stiff peaks and appear shiny but not dry. Beat in the vanilla.

Attach the meringue to the hot pie, beginning by adding globs all around the edge of the crust and smoothing them into a circle. (That’s the technical culinary term, but that’s what you are doing, adding globs.)

Then add remaining meringue to the center and smooth or shape into peaks as desired. Bake the pie for another 20 minutes. Cool on a rack. Refrigerate until serving.

Clinical psychologist Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib) is the author of 18 mysteries, including The Key Lime Crime (Crooked Lane Books,) the latest in the Key West series featuring food critic Hayley Snow. Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She’s a past president of Sisters in Crime and the current president of the Friends of the Key West Library.