Ms. American Pie Cookbook Review and Key Lime Pie Recipe

Author and baker Beth M. Howard knows pies but she’s not your typical pie maker.  Since taking up the rolling pin she’s made pies at California’s Malibu Kitchen for celebrities including Barbra Streisand, Dick Van Dyke and Steven Spielberg.  She loaded 240 pies into an RV and drove them from Iowa to Newton, CT in December 2012 knowing full-well the healing power of pie. She currently calls the famous American Gothic house in Eldon, Iowa home and runs the hugely popular Pitchfork Pie Stand out of its parlor every summer.  Beth is far from your typical pie maker so understandably Ms. American Pie: Buttery Good Pie Recipes and Bold Tales from the American Gothic House is far from your typical cookbook.

Ms. American Pie offers beautiful photos to go with  most of the recipes. The book is very well put together and I just love the huge variety of recipes that it brings to the table.   There are recipes for pies that I have never dreamed of and you better believe I had to try a few of the unusual ones likes Venison Pie.  Packed with 80 of Beth’s coveted pie recipes along with some of her own true tales of taking her pies from coast to gleaming coast and the lessons she learned along the way.

Here is one of the recipes you will find inside this amazing book.  Key Lime Pie is hands down one of my favorite pies so this was a recipe I had to try first.  As most of us know, these pies can be finicky and can easily get too tart.  This one turned out fantastic!

CRUST 
Graham Cracker Crust (below)

FILLING 
4 egg yolks (reserve 2 egg whites)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice (about 20 Key limes or 6 Persian limes), or bottled juice
(see tip below)
2 tsp fresh lime zest (optional but zesty!)

TOPPING 
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tbsp sugar

BETH ’S SHORTCUT: You can use bottled lime juice for this recipe. Recommended brands
are Nellie and Joe’s or Manhattan (unsweetened). It’s a lot faster and easier than squeezing
those mini Key limes and will keep your fingers from pruning. That said, I always prefer
using fresh fruit with no preservatives

Directions:
Prepare the Graham Cracker Crust.

Prepare the Filling: Whisk 4 egg yolks in a large bowl, then add condensed milk, lime juice,
and lime zest.

Beat 2 reserved egg whites until stiff and fold into mixture. This will make your filling
lighter. (This is an optional step, but one that I always do.)

Pour filling into prepared crust

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until filling is set. Let cool, then chill for at least 3
hours. (Waiting is the hardest part!)

Prepare the Topping: Beat cream and sugar until peaks form. Spread over top of pie.
Alternatively, use your leftover egg whites to make a meringue topping. I prefer the
whipped cream over the meringue for its sense of freshness.

BETH’S TIP: 
Instead of little Key limes, you can also use “regular ” limes, known as Persian limes .
They are bigger and juicier and thus easier to squeeze, but are said to be less tangy
than Key limes. However, I did a taste test with a few Key lime pie aficionados in Key
West, people who swear by using Key limes, and they all voted for the pie made with
the Persian limes. Even the experts were fooled. Go figure. (This is why I insist on
questioning authority and thus dispelling myths.)

1 ½ cups crushed graham crackers (about 9 to 12 crackers, at least one sleeve)
5 to 6 tbsp butter, melted