The Best Atlantic Beach Pie With A Saltine Crust rates in the “Oh My What A Pie” category. You will love these lemon lime pie recipe!

The Best Atlantic Beach Pie With A Saltine & Graham Cracker Crust

Best Atlantic Beach Pie with A Saltine Crust

Visiting our family beach home a couple of times a year on Emerald Isle was not complete without a slice of Bill Smith’s infamous Atlantic Beach Pie. It is one of those recipes that sticks with you and you have to learn how to make it. Well friend! Adapted slightly from Bill Smith of Crooks Corner, North Carolina I am sharing my “gilded lily” version with you.

Let’s Chat About The Best Atlantic Beach Pie

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE ATLANTIC BEACH PIE?

The original recipe by Bill Smith truly is a show stopper. You can find the neat story about the original recipe here.

A Saltine Cracker Crust Versus a Graham Cracker Crust?

For this pie you use both!

Key lime pie fans insist that the graham cracker crust would be much better for this pie because the saltines go a bit soggy. In reality, the saltines add a great balance with the luscious creamy filling and add crunch!

Note some versions of this recipe call for club crackers or ritz crackers. 😉

In my recipe I use more butter and 1/2 cup of graham crackers too. It is makes for the perfect crust texture. The chilled crushed graham crackers and butter hold the crust together while the barley crushed saltine crackers add the crunch! EVERYONE WINS!

HOW TO GILD THE LILY & SERVE THE BEST ATLANTIC BEACH PIE

Firstly, if you haven’t heard the term gild the lily, it means to add an extra touch to what is already perfection. I am all about the gilding of the lily. I call it Sparkling Charm! 😉

You can’t mess with Bill Smith’s pie perfection, but the fun of blogging and passing recipes is making a recipe your own by Gilding the Lily with your own spin. I chatted a bit above about what I changed in the crust ingredients and why. Now let’s talk about the Sparkle Spin! 😉

Just before serving the Best Atlantic Beach Pie with A Saltine Crust, top with fresh whipped cream. “Gild the lily – Sparkling Spin” this beauty by adding lemon and lime zest. It looks like confetti on the whipped cream and it adds an extra brightness to the flavor.

HOW TO STORE THE BEST ATLANTIC BEACH PIE

Atlantic Beach Pie is best served when it is made. The crust will be a bit softer, but you can make the pie the day before and top it with whipped cream and zest just before serving. It can be stored covered in the refrigerator for 3 days.

OTHER ADAPTATIONS OF ATLANTIC BEACH PIE

One of my very favorite things about blogging is watching a Sparkling Charm idea evolve with personal spins. It truly is what makes blogging fun! Here are a few adaptations to check out.

EGG WHITES IN THE CRUST

Southern Living calls for 1 egg white in the crust. When baked it has a noticeable baked egg flavor that for a moment blocks the delightful salty, sweet, and tangy perfection of the pie. I am pretty sure it is mixed in the crust to bind, but I found that if you press the crust well you will get the same result as a graham cracker crust that just calls for butter and sugar.

RITZ CRACKER CRUST AND ORANGE ZEST

One of my favorite bloggers,

One of my favorite bloggers, Joycelyn from Grandbaby Cakes uses Ritz crackers for the crust and orange zest! …A great twist! Check out her recipe here.

BUTTER CRACKERS AND BROWN SUGAR

On Delish, Brook Caison uses butter crackers and brown sugar for her spin. Check out this version here.

HOW TO SERVE ATLANTIC BEACH PIE FOR A PARTY!

Serve mini pieces of pie on 4″ Sea Scallops.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH ATLANTIC BEACH PIE

Atlantic Beach pie goes great with pork but you can never go wrong serving this delicious pie for…

A SEAFOOD EXTRAVAGANZA

THE BEST ATLANTIC BEACH PIE WITH A SALTINE & GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST RECIPE

Ingredients

Crust

36 saltine crackers or 1 sleeve
1/2 cup crushed graham crackers, crushed to resemble sand
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Filling

1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

Garnish

fresh whipped cream
coarse sea salt
zest of one lemon
zest of one lime

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Instructions

Preheat oven 350° F.

With clean hands, crush the saltine crackers into fine pieces but not into dust/sand. Add the crushed graham crackers, sugar and the melted butter and continue to mix until the mixture holds together like dough. Press into a 8″ pie plate. Chill for 15 minutes and then bake for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

While the crust is cooling, mix the the condensed milk, egg yolks, lemon juice, and lime juice until completely smooth with a whisk. (This is an important step.) Pour the mixture into the saltine crust and bake for 16 minutes. The center should be set. Remove from the oven and refrigerate until completely chilled.