Salted Margarita Bars

RECIPE: Reprinted with permission from Cookies: The Best Recipes for the Perfect Anytime Treat by Vaughn Vreeland and The New York Times Cooking. © 2025 by The New York Times Company. Photographs copyright © 2025 by The New York Times Company. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Photo: Johnny Miller

September 02, 2025

Key lime pie’s boozier, saltier cousin makes for a perfect party dessert.

In New York Time Cooking‘s cookbook, Cookies: The Best Recipes for the Perfect Anytime Treat, recipe curator Vaughn Vreeland presents a cookie for every occasion and need. And for a barbecue or a beach trip, he recommends these salted Margarita bars. “Key lime pie’s boozier, saltier cousin, this edible cocktail is an ideal party dessert, mingling all the fun of a margarita—and its salted rim—with the efficiency of a slab pie,” he writes. For the bars, he recommends using a blanco tequila for “its milder taste.”

Ingredients

Yield:16 bars

For the Filling
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup tequila, preferably blanco
5 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
2 tsp. grated lime zest
pinch of kosher salt
flaky salt, for finishing
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For the Crust
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
About 40 saltine crackers (from 1 4-oz. sleeve)
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

Tools:9-inch square baking pan, food processor, medium bowl, whisk

Preparation

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter (or use the wrapper from your stick of butter). Line the buttered pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. (This will help you pull the bars out of the pan easily.)

Prepare the crustIn a food processor, pulse the saltines until ground like coarse sand. (Alternatively, place them in a resealable plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.) It’s okay if there are a few larger pieces. Add the melted butter, sugar and salt and pulse a few more times until all the crumbs are evenly saturated. (Or mix to combine in a medium bowl.) Pour the mixture into the lined pan, press into an even layer and freeze for about 15 minutes.

After the crust has chilled, bake it until fragrant and golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool slightly but leave the oven on.

Make the fillingIn a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine the lime zest, lime juice, tequila, orange liqueur and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Add the tequila-lime mixture to the yolk mixture, whisk to combine, then pour into the prepared crust. (It’s okay if the crust is not yet completely cool.) You may be tempted to prepare the curd earlier, but don’t do so more than 10 minutes before baking, as the lime juice will start to thicken it, which could affect the bake.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the curd is set around the edges and slightly jiggly in the center.

Transfer to a rack to cool slightly, then freeze for at least 2 hours.

After freezing, remove the bars from the pan using the parchment paper overhang and transfer to a cutting board. Sprinkle with flaky salt, cut into
16 bars and serve right away. Store leftovers in the freezer. Cheers!

TipDon’t make the curd more than 10 minutes in advance, as the lime juice will start to thicken it, which could affect the bake.