Key Lime Pie is a no-bake dessert make with the juice of tiny Key Limes, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk. Since it’s no-bake, it’s a great way to have pie without heating up your kitchen during warm summer months.
I like Key Lime Pie, but I do not go nuts for it. I’m just not really a pie person in general. I mean, I like pie and will often eat it if offered to me, but I won’t go out of my way for it.
I know there are fanatics out there who restlessly search for the most perfect, most authentic Key Lime Pie. I am not one of them.
I’ll be honest, I couldn’t tell an imperfect Key Lime Pie from a perfect Key Lime Pie–Unless it happens to be topped with meringue. I do not care for meringue-topped pies.
That being said, I picked myself up a bag of Key limes:
Which you’ll no doubt notice are much smaller than the usual Persian limes you see in the stores.
And they’re yellower than Persian limes, too. I needed about half the bag to get enough lime juice for the pie. And if you’ve never tried to hand-juice Key Limes…Let’s just say it’s going to take you awhile.
I was a little surprised to learn that my local grocery store actually carried bottles of Key lime juice. Which was good. It meant I had a nice fall-back, in case the limes didn’t produce enough.
Jay is apparently a bigger Key Lime Pie fan than I am, as he’s been eating this non-stop since I made it. I had one slice (a failed slice I tried to photograph, even though it fell apart), and that’s pretty much all I need for awhile!
Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 C graham cracker crumbs
- 3/4 C sugar
- 1/4 C unsalted butter, melted
For the Key Lime filling:
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 14-oz. can sweetened, condensed milk
- 1/3 C Key lime juice (from about 20 Key limes)
- Whipped cream, for topping
Instructions
In a mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Mix well, then place in a 9-inch pie plate. Pat the crumbs out in an even layer along the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Freeze while making the filling.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, sweetened, condensed milk and the Key lime juice. Mix well on medium speed.*
Pour the filling into the prepared crust, and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, before topping with whipped cream and serving.
Notes
*It is not necessary to bake a Key Lime Pie. If you don't want to bake it, make sure to beat the condensed milk mixture for a full 5 minutes, and skip the baking/cooling step.