Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Key Lime Pie with a Gingersnap Crust

Serves eight

Use instant pudding that requires no stovetop cooking for this recipe. Regular supermarket (Persian) limes taste best in this recipe; bottled lime juice makes for a lackluster pie. This easy homemade crust can easily be made with gluten-free ginger snaps as well! Use a deep-dish pie plate because there’s a whole lot of crust and it’s the kind that people will fight over.

INGREDIENTS:
Crust
2 cups ginger snap crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Filling
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons lime zest
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 cup fresh lime juice from 10 – 14 limes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse ginger snaps in food processor until finely ground; measure to make 2 cups. Add sugar, and salt and process for 10 seconds. Add melted butter in steady stream while pulsing until crumbs resemble damp sand. Using bottom of dry measuring cup, press crumbs firmly into bottom and sides of 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Bake until fragrant and browned around edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool completely.
2. For the filling: Process sugar and zest in food processor until sugar turns bright green, about 30 seconds. Add cream cheese and process until combined, about 30 seconds. Add condensed milk and pudding mix and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl. Stir gelatin and 2 tablespoons lime juice in small bowl. Heat in microwave for 15 seconds; stir until dissolved. With machine running, pour gelatin mixture, remaining lime juice, and vanilla through feed tube and mix until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.
3. Pour filling into cooled crust, cover with plastic, and refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to 2 days. To serve, let pie sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing.

**Gingersnaps are often referred to as ginger nuts in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
*Key lime pie is usually made with key limes, which are more tart and aromatic than the common Persian limes available year round in most grocery stores. Key lime juice, unlike regular lime juice, is a pale yellow. The filling in key lime pie is often yellow due to the egg yolks featured in many recipes. Canned sweetened condensed milk was initially used in key lime pie recipes because fresh milk was not common in the Florida Keys before modern refrigerated distribution methods.

Recipe adapted by Cristina Paul

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