Atlantic Beach Pie Bars.

Atlantic beach pie bars are the perfect summer treat! A salty cracker crust is topped with fresh citrus curd, fresh whipped cream and a sprinkle of sea salt. Tangy, light, refreshing and delicious.

I’ve found our 2024 summer dessert!! 

These atlantic beach pie bars are my new favorite treat. A salty sweet crust made of saltine crackers, topped with a baked citrus curd and piled high with fresh whipped cream and flaked sea salt.

Oh my gosh.

Give me more! 

Lacy has been telling me that I need to make atlantic beach pie for YEARS. It always sounded delicious, but I have to be over-the-top crazy about something to make it and that was how I suddenly became over this pie.

CRAZY. Like I needed to make it and serve it and eat it. 

I couldn’t stop thinking about it!

This pie was created by Bill Smith, a chef in North Carolina who was inspired by the lemon desserts he’d eat at Atlantic Beach. The best way I can describe it is marriage between key lime pie and lemon bars, with a crunchy, saltier crust. 

It is my new hyperfixation and I need you to try it so it can be yours too! 

Pie still isn’t my BFF, so I knew I wanted to adapt this recipe into bar form. I wanted to be able to make a big pan of pie bars that I could take to summer gatherings and wow, this is the ticket. It’s the ideal dessert for summer: tangy, light but rich at the same time, sweet and salty and filled with citrus. 

The best part is that the filling is a mix of lemon and lime juice. It can be a 50/50 mix or a different ratio depending on what you have. Because of that, the filling might taste slightly different based on who is making it. I prefer to use the 50/50 mix of lemon and lime juice and I love it that way. 

To make the saltine crust, you just crush them! They don’t need to be put in a food processor. You don’t want them to turn into dust – the more texture the better. Then, they get mixed with some butter and sugar to create the ideal crust. 

The filling is embarrassingly easy. Sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks and the aforementioned citrus juice. Pour it over the crust and bake for a few minutes.

It’s important to fully chill the bars before slicing. They taste amazing cold! (more…)

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