Margarita Pie

Margarita Pie

This is one of those recipes that gets slightly altered each time I make it, so I've included some of the variations.

For Crust: 

• 2 cups  crushed pretzels 
  
• 1/4 cup  sugar 
  
• 2/3 cup melted butter 

Pulse pretzels and sugar in food processor (or blender) until fine crumbs. Add butter, process to blend. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and sides of pie plate. Freeze while preparing filling. 

Note: Personally, I like the salty crust, it's unusual though. Some people prefer to use a standard graham cracker crust, still good, just makes it sweeter. 

For Filling: 

• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
  
• 1 tbsp. grated lime peel
  
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  
• 1/4 cup tequila (if you use this amount you will taste it a bit.  You can cut back to 2 tbsp. or eliminate) 
  
• 1/4 cup Cointreau (or other orange liqueur, you can cut back to 2 tbsp. or use orange juice)
• 2 cups  heavy whipping cream (you can use cool whip if you want, but it will be sweeter)
  
• 4 drops green + 2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
  
• Garnish: lime slices
  

Procedure: 

Stir condensed milk, lime peel, juice, tequila, Cointreau, and food coloring in a small bowl. Beat cream with mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually fold in the lime mixture until well blended. 

Pour into crust, freeze 4-6 hours or overnight. To serve, let pie sit at room temp for 10 minutes, or refrigerate for 20 min.  Re-freeze any remaining pie. 

Variations: 

• Strawberry- omit lime peel, add 1 cup fresh sliced strawberries, use red food coloring 
  
• Virgin- omit tequila, add an extra 1 tbsp. lime juice, use 1/4 cup of orange juice in place of liqueur.
  

Ok, that is not as many different ways as I thought! Oh, I think I did use Triple Sec one time too, but I can't remember if that was in addition to the Cointreau or replaced it...