Easy Key Lime Pie (with Ginger Snap Crust)

Every year I celebrate spring by making a Key lime pie. But this year the limes in store were depressing, and I had to resort to bottled lime juice. It felt like a large sacrifice in flavor, so I decided to put my emphasis on the crust, an often neglected part of the pie in my opinion. Graham cracker crust is the go-to crust for Key lime, but it could be much more exciting. So how about a cookie crust? A gingersnap cookie crust! Ginger works wonderfully with sweet and sour flavors, and it deserves to share the stage with the tanginess of the Key lime. 

Step 1: Ingredients

Crust:
2-1/4 cup mixture of crushed gingersnap cookies and graham crackers
1 stick of unsalted butter (melted)

Filling:
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup Key lime juice
4 egg yolks
2 drops of green food coloring (optional)

Garnish:
1-2 limes (zest or small slice)
whipped cream

Step 2: Directions

Preheat at 350 degrees F.

For the crust: Begin crushing gingersnaps and graham crackers either by hand or with a food processor. The mixture of the two is up to you how much you would like of either ingredient just as long as the crumbs measure out to about 2- ¼ cups. Combine crumbs and butter into a large bowl or the food processor. Pour the mixture into a springform pan and mold it to the bottom and its wall. Bake for 10 minutes and then cool on a wire rack.

Step 3:

For the filling: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. Add Key lime juice and whisk until they are blended well (mixture slightly thickens). Add in green food coloring if desired.

Pour filling into crust and bake for 16-18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, cover, and chill the pie a minimum of 6 hours.
Serve with whipped cream and zest to complete the flavors.