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Atlantic Beach Pie is a delicious dessert with a salty saltine cracker crust and a sweet lemon filling. A combination that goes together perfectly!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
Occasionally I get an email from my good friend Sherra and it begins with the words – Must Make! Then there is a link to a recipe. I know if it comes from Sherra and it starts with those two words I can pretty much be guaranteed it’s going to be a good one.
She is always right, you must make this lemon pie recipe!!
I love all things lemon but I have to say that the star of this dessert is not the lemon, it is the crust which is made out of saltine crackers. The saltiness of the crust along with the sweetness of the filling is simply lovely! The salty cracker crusts helps make the pie not too sweet.
Why Is it Called Atlantic Beach Pie?
This story comes from the Our State: North Carolina online magazine. The story goes that in the 50’s in North Carolina they believed that if you ate dessert after a dinner of seafood you would die. Honest! The only exception to that though was Atlantic Beach Pie so it was a very popular dessert at seafood restaurants. I guess it has something to do with how lemon and fish go together.
The original recipe was made with a meringue crust. This cracker crust version was developed by cookbook author Chef Bill Smith.
Ingredients Needed
- Saltine crackers (about a sleeve and a half)
- Butter, use unsalted butter for this since there is so much salt in the crackers.
- Sugar
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Egg yolks
- Lemon juice, fresh squeezed
- Whipping Cream
How to Make Atlantic Beach Pie Recipe
- Crush up the saltine crackers, you don’t want them totally pulverized though. I like to put them in a zippered plastic bag and roll over them with a rolling pin.
- Combine the crumbs with sugar and softened butter and press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
- Bake crust at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.
- Cool the crust.
Lemon Cream Pie Filling
- In a medium bowl, combine fresh lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks and whisk together.
- Fill the crust with mixture.
- Bake again for 16 minutes or until filling has set.
- Refrigerate the pie until ready to serve. Chill completely before serving.
- Serve the pie topped with some whipped cream. Find out how to make sweetened whipped cream here.
How to Serve Atlantic Beach Pie?
- We love to add a dollop of whipped cream to the top of the pie.
- Add a sprinkling of lime zest for some extra color on top of the whipped cream.
- The pie does need time to chill and set up so be sure to prepare the night or morning before you plan to serve it.
Atlantic Beach Pie Variations
- Instead of lemon juice you could make more of a key lime pie using fresh lime juice or key lime juice.
- You could really use any kind of citrus juices, such as orange.
- To give it even more lemon flavor, add in the lemon zest of one lemon.
- If you prefer more sweet than salty, use graham cracker crumbs, vanilla wafers or gingersnaps for the crust.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will Atlantic Beach Pie keep?
Keep leftover pie in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap. It will last for 3-4 days.
Check out more lovely lemon desserts:
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Atlantic Beach Lemon Cream Pie
Ingredients
- 60 saltine crackers (about a sleeve and a half)
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 tablespoons sugar
For the filling:
- 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ cup lemon juice
- Fresh whipped cream for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Crush the crackers finely, but not to dust.
- You can use a food processor or place in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush.
- Add the sugar, then knead in the butter until the crumbs hold together like dough.
- Press into an 8-inch pie pan. Chill for 15 minutes, then bake for 18 minutes or until the crust colors a little.
- While the crust is cooling (it doesn’t need to be cold), beat the egg into the milk, then beat in the lemon juice.
- Mix well.
- Pour into the shell and bake for 16 minutes until the filling has set. The pie needs to be completely cold to be sliced. Serve with fresh whipped cream
Tips & Notes:
- Instead of lemon juice you could make more of a key lime pie using fresh lime juice or key lime juice.
- You could really use any kind of citrus juices, such as orange.
- To give it even more lemon flavor, add in the lemon zest of one lemon.
- If you prefer more sweet than salty, use graham cracker crumbs, vanilla wafers or gingersnaps for the crust.
Susan Claire says
I have a similar recipe, and I was leery of using 4 eggs-my recipe calls for yolks only. Checked around and this exact recipe is all over the place using only yolks. One comment made was using whole eggs made the crust soggy. Anyone have this experience?
Leigh Anne says
My crust wasn’t soggy at all.
Carol says
I just can hardly wait to try this pie! I cannot believe that I honesty feel like I have tried every sort of lemon dessert but have not come across this.I love the idea of cracker crust and I am just writing to make sure they are the slated crackers that you would use in this. Judging from the comments I have read, it is salted , so I am just going to go ahead and make this with them!
Leigh Anne says
Carol, Yes it is a salted cracker. The salt and lemon combo is great!
Carol says
I am making this pie right now and just wanted to double check the ingredients and I saw that you responded to my question so quickly! I am sure this pie is going to be a real treat, and love the simplicity of it all.I re-read the whole article of yours and I should have realized about the crackers before. I tend to rush at first with some recipes and this might not be a good idea at times.My crust just came out of oven and smells amazing!!!! Oh gosh I am anxious to try this pie!
Kathy says
Hi, I was born & raised in NC. I have 2 remembrances of this pie. Our family vacations we went to Atlantic beach & to Myrtle bch; for dinner everyone there drove to the NC seafood houses to eat Fried shrimp. I fondly remember all the fish houses served this pie, This was in the late 50’s & 60’s, we called it Lemon ice box pie. It had a meringue topping though instead of whipped cream (same as lemon meringue pie). My Grandmother Crowe also made this pie, she was a Dynamite cook! She was one of the first FTD florists in NC. I remember she taught me how to make this pie once when I spent a week with her. I will Never Forget it because We were eating her “lemon cracker pie” (her name for it) watching TV when President Kennedy came on & told America about the Cuban Missle Crisis!!! Very Memorable indeed!
Nancy says
I have been looking for this recipe ever since I heard the article on NPR the other week. Thanks for posting!
Leigh Anne says
Enjoy it – it’s a good one!
Leigh Anne says
Nancy, Hope you’ll give it a try and enjoy it as much as we did!
Kayla says
Oh my goodness, that crust.. it just looks sooo good! And the whipped cream… yummy!
Leigh Anne says
Thanks Kayla – the combo of the salty crust and sweet filling is perfect.