Sweet Baked Life

Take a break from the summertime heat with this cool and refreshing Key Lime Pie!

Many years ago, my husband and I were watching Oprah. Ok, let me say, this did not happen much — I think I was home sick and we were flipping through the channels.

We stumbled upon The Oprah Winfrey Show where a chef was just about to make his famous Key Lime Pie. My eyes were glued to the TV as he quickly whipped together this beautiful pie.

With my mouth still watering, I clicked onto Oprah’s website and printed out the recipe. I stuck it in my recipe binder and there it stayed.

For some reason, I never made the pie. Not sure why.

I always knew I wanted to make it. Maybe it was because I had never seen fresh Key limes before. Or maybe I was just not looking. Does this ever happen to you — you find a great recipe and never make it?

I had seen Key lime juice in a bottle, but knew for sure I did not want to use that stuff. I’m sure its good, but not good enough for this pie.

A couple of weeks ago my husband told me that he saw Key limes at our local grocery store.

I immediately said, “Well, that means I need to make a Key Lime Pie.”

And that is exactly what I did. I flipped through my binder, found the recipe and off to the store I went.

And the outcome — a sweet and tangy flavor, a crisp delicious graham crust, and the filling — a wonderfully cool and creamy texture.

Afterwards I continued to wonder why had I never made this amazingly easy, and incredibly satisfying pie before.

Who knows. But I have made it twice and both times it turned out perfect.

I believe the fresh Key limes are the secret ingredient. They are smaller, juicier and have more distinct, intense flavor than regular limes. I hope your grocer has Key limes so you can enjoy this pie as much as me and my family did!

Key Lime Pie

By: Sheila | Sweet Baked Life

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Crust
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Filling
4 egg yolks
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice
Freshly grated zest from 1 Key lime

Instructions:

Heat your oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust: Place 2 packages of graham crackers into a large zip-lock baggie, seal and crush with a rolling pin until you get coarse crumbs. Measure 1-1/2 cups and add to a large bowl. Add the melted butter, sugar and salt and stir until combined. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack while you prepare the filling.

For the filling: In a large bowl add the egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk and whisk until well combined. Add the Key lime juice and whisk until mixture becomes thick then pour into the prepared crust. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the filling has just set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours. Slice and serve.

Get ready to dig into summer with a big slice or two of this sweet and creamy Key Lime Pie!

 

{Recipe adapted from The Oprah Winfrey Show}