4th of July Pie

I love the 4th of July. From the parades to the picnics to the fireworks. It’s all so fun! This year, Dan and I will be staying in D.C. Typically, we take some time off and head to Wisconsin, but we’re budgeting our vacation time for the honeymoon this year!

In honor of the holiday, I’ve decided to make Dan one of his favorite desserts: key lime pie.

This is no small feat for me. I cook, sure. But baking is a whole different story. I’m even going to make my own graham cracker crust (?). I think I was destined to make this pie. Yesterday, I got an email from SELF.com with instructions on how to make a low-fat key lime pie. Sure, I signed up to receive weekly emails from SELF on healthy recipes – but I’ve never actually acted on it until now.

While I’ve never made pie, this seems fairly straightforward. Here’s the recipe:

KEY LIME PIE
Makes 10 servings

INGREDIENTS
Crust
1 1/2 cups graham crackers, crushed1/4 cup sugar5 tbsp butter, melted (or use a commercially prepared graham crust such as Keebler Ready Crust Graham Cracker Pie Crust)

Filling
1 can (14 oz) nonfat sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 tbsp lime zest, minced
1 egg2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 cups low-calorie whipped cream (such as Cool Whip)
1 lime, thinly sliced (optional)

PREPARATIONS
Preheat oven to 325° F.

For crust: Mix graham cracker crumbs with sugar and butter. Spread evenly over bottom and sides of a nonstick 9" pie pan and bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool.

For filling: In a medium bowl, using a fork, beat milk, lime juice, and zest. Add 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks (reserve whites) and beat well. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. After about 20 seconds, add cream of tartar. Fold whites into custard mixture and pour into partially baked crust. Bake 45 to 60 minutes or until set. Let cool. Serve with whipped cream. Garnish with lime slices, if desired.

I'll let you know how the pie-making goes, and I make no promises that it will actually taste or look good.

Happy 4th of July to all!