Lime Meringue Pie

Happy new year everyone! I missed my goal of sharing a final post of 2018, but here’s to new beginnings in 2019. After hosting a New Year’s Eve party last night at our place, we were left with most of the 5lb bag of “fancy” limes we bought from Costco. And with rest of the ingredients on hand in our pantry, it was a no brainer to make my husband’s favorite dessert – lime meringue pie (aka key lime pie). Because why not start the new year off right? It’s a fairly simple recipe with a limited number of ingredients but absolutely delicious and always a crowd pleaser.

As always, you can skip directly to the recipe below, but I’m sharing step-by-step instructions on how to make lime meringue pie below. Don’t forget to also check out my other dessert recipes.

Making the graham cracker crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/176 degrees C.

Start by crushing 11-12 graham crackers into fine crumbs. I find one of the easiest ways to do this is by place graham crackers in a Ziploc bag and pounding them with a rolling pin, but you can also use your hands to crumble up the crackers (although this takes longer).

Combine 1 and 1/2 cups of the graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a bowl. Melt 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a separate bowl – either on the stovetop or microwave. If microwaving, start with 30 seconds high, followed by 15 second increments until fully melted. Add the melted butter to the graham cracker mixture and stir until combined. Press the crumb mixture evenly to the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. I find that using your hands is easiest to do this.

Bake for 10 minutes until lightly brown. Remove from the oven and let rest on a cooling rack.

Prepare the lime meringue pie filling

Finely zest about 6 limes to obtain 1.5 tablespoons of zest. (I love this Microplane zester.) Be careful not to overzest the lime to get into the white pith which is too bitter. Juice the limes to get about 2/3 cup of fresh lime juice – you may need to juice 1-2 additional limes. If you’re looking for product recommendations, I love these items:

Separate 3 large eggs into whites and yolks into two separate bowls – you’ll need 3 egg yolks and 4 egg whites. Set aside the egg whites. Using an election mixer, beat the lime zest and egg yolks until pale and thick, about 4-5 minutes. Add one can of sweetened condensed milk and beat until thickened again, about 3 minutes more. Beat 2/3 cup fresh lime juice into the zest yolk mixture until well combined.

Pour the lime filling into graham crust and bake for 15 minutes, until set but not browned. Let pie cool on the wire rack slightly while preparing the meringue.

Top off the pie with meringue

In a small bowl, stir together ½ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon cornstarch, and a pinch of salt. Beat the egg whites on medium speed until white and foamy, about 5 minutes. Increase mixer speed to high. Add the sugar mixture, a little at a time, to the egg whites, beating between additions. Continue to beat until the mixture turns glossy-white and forms stiff peaks. Spoon the meringue over the pie, using the back of the spoon to shape the meringue top and form peaks.

Brown the pie slightly using a kitchen torch or broil briefly. If broiling, be sure to watch it carefully – don’t leave it for longer than a minute, and it’s best to rotate the pie for even color.

Let cool on wire rack before covering lightly with plastic wrap and placing in the refrigerator to cool down. Chill for at least 2 hours, up to overnight. Slice and enjoy!