Key Lime Pie. It's a sentence in itself. This cool, refreshing dessert originates from the Florida Keys, but gets its name from the key lime, a small, naturalized version of the Persian limes seen in grocery stores in the US. My local Kroger, by some miracle, actually carries real key limes, and so I picked some up to make a from-scratch pie.
This recipe doesn't include egg yolks, which Wikipedia lists as 'part of the traditional recipe'. Eh. Whatever. I used the version found on Allrecipes.com called, Key Lime Pie VII. It's certifiably amazing, having made it before. Very simple - 3 cups condensed sweetened milk (about 2 1/2 cans), 1/2 cup sour cream (in place of the egg yolks to hold the pie together), 3/4 key lime juice, and some lime zest. Place that in a pre-made graham cracker crust (which I made from scratch, and from cookies, not graham crackers), and bam! Delicious.I squeezed an entire bag of key limes to get my 3/4 cup of juice! Tiny little things, aren't they? Instead of using a typical squeezer, I grabbed a garlic press. Cut the limes into quarter wedges, place in the press, instant juice. So simple! Takes time to do this, but the tartness of real key lime juice is hard to substitute. However, if you don't have time to squeeze an entire bag of limes like some people, there are perfectly acceptable alternatives. I recommend Nellie and Joe's Famous Key West Lime Juice. (It's really expensive on Amazon. I get it for around 4 bucks at Kroger.)
For the crust, I pulled a recipe from Everyday with Rachel Ray. (For some reason, the magazine just began randomly coming to my house, but under John's name. I don't know.) Take a box of Pure Butter Shortbread Cookies, some shredded coconut, a bit o' sugar, and some butter. Place in blender or food processor to make crumbs, press into bottom of pie pan, and bake your crust. Nice, thick, delicious.
I considered making homemade whipped cream for this. But then I got lazy, and it didn't happen. In the actual Conch Republic, they apparently place a meringue on top. This also didn't happen with my pie. Just the pie, which should be YELLOW in color, not green. Like this one.
Make it, bake it, eat it. Enjoy the holiday!
Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
- For filling:
- 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup key lime juice
- 1 TBS grated lime zest
- For crust:
- 1 box pure butter shortbread cookies, broken into pieces
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 TBS melted butter
Instructions
1. Make crust. Place cookies, coconut and sugar in blender/food processor. Pulse until finely ground. Pulse in the butter. Pat crumbles firmly into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake in 350 degrees oven for 8 - 10 minutes. Don't brown.2. Leave oven on. If making from fresh squeezed limes, squeeze with either a juicer, or be cool like me, and use a garlic press. (Make sure the press is washed, no garlic taste in your pie!) When you have 3/4 cup of juice, add to a medium sized bowl. Pour in condensed milk, sour cream, and zest. Mix until smooth. 3. Bake in oven for 8 minutes, until small bubbles on surface burst. DO NOT BROWN. Chill pie thoroughly before serving.
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