The distinctiveness of this pie is its crust: made from fairly finely crushed saltine crackers (best with the original Keebler Saltines) and moistened with melted butter until it holds together so you can pat it into a pie plate. Chill it a bit and then bake for about 15 minutes until it’s lightly brown.
When I first posted this pie on Facebook I had lots of comments, one in particular that said “How low can you go.” At first I wasn’t not sure what that meant. But then I took it to mean that it was a fulsome stab at cooking economically, resorting to cracker crumbs for a crust. But this crust makes the pie as does its simple filling that take minutes to make. The result is a pie with a flavor profile of sweet, salt and sour. I loved this pic so much that I made it a second time a few days later. It was in that second version where I made changes. The first time the crust fell apart because I hadn’t crushed the crackers fine enough and I added more melted butter so the crumbs would hold up better. I’ve actually seen some versions where the cracker crust is rolled out like a standard pie dough.
The recipe can be credited to the legion of -grandmothers in the south whose recipes have been passed down over the years. Chef Bill Smith, of Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, North Carolina is such a recipient and he also had many version of it as a child when he visited the coastal restaurants in the Carolinas, where this pie was a summer feature and thus its name Atlantic Beach Pie. He includes it on his Crook’s Corner menu. The version that I offer uses Neal’s crust but I also got tips from the New York Times article on Atlantic Beach Pie and from cookbook author Virginia Willis whose filling was delicious, basically a glorified ice box pie as shown in her book “Secrets of the Southern Table”
The first time I had some trouble with the crust falling apart. I did because I didn’t crush the crackers fine enough. On the second try I put them in the food processor until finely crushed. But you have to be careful of overdoing it. I also increased the amount of melted butter that’s used to bind the crust. Though Willis’s version called for putting the crust in a tart pan with removable bottom, I found this too cumbersome and had much better results using an ordinary pie plate.
In his book where he offers a recipe for the pie he credits his grandmother for her version of the pie. In fact, he also suggests that you can use Ritz crackers instead of Saltines.
Ingredients
- Pie Crust
- 1 1/2 sleeves saltines, crushed finely
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Filling
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 can (14-ounce) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
- Sea salt to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Crust. Empty the cracker sleeves into the workbowl of a food processor and pulse the mixture until the crackers are evenly crushed but be careful not to over do it because you don't want a fine powder.
- Put the crushed crackers in a medium box and stir in melted butter and the sugar. Mix until it holds together when you pinch it with your fingers.
- Fill an 8 or 9-inch pie plate with the crumbs, pressing down well with the back of a glass or measuring cup. Press the crumbs well working them up to the sides of the pan and make a nice indentation for the pie filling to pour into.
- Chill the pie crust for 10 minutes and then put into a 350 oven to firm and brown a bit.
- Remove from the oven and add the filling.
- Filling Mix all the filling ingredients (except the cream and salt) in a medium size bowl, stirring well until the milk, eggs and lemon juice are thoroughly incorporated in the milk. Pour into the prepared pie crust
- Bake the pie for 10 minutes at or until the filling is set.
- Refrigerate the pie for a least an hour before serving.
- When ready to serve whip the cream to soft peaks and cover the pie with it, leaving the filling showing around the edges. Sprinkle the top with some crumbs and flaky sea salt