Key Lime Pie Recipe

Key Lime Pie is my favorite dessert so this is one of my favorite recipes.

My family and I were in sunny Florida around the time of hurricane Irene and even she couldn't dampen the wonder of Disney. We were at the resort because my wife was attending a business conference and wanted us to join her for some rest and relaxation.

We had a blast, especially my daughter Nell whose eyes were wide open from the moment we stepped off the plane. She did have a little trouble when meeting the Disney characters at the park, but who wouldn't have trouble with a 7 foot Pluto when you're not even two years old?

Last time I was at Disney was back in the 80's when I realized my folks were never going to take me there so I decided to take them. How Disney World has changed since my last visit. New parks and resorts have sprung up faster than you can say Donald Duck.

Besides the Magic Kingdom and Epcot (which stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, by the way), there's Disney's MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom, three water parks, Downtown Disney along with new resorts like the Dixie Landing, Port Orleans, Coronado Springs, Wilderness Lodge and the Polynesian.

What do all these resorts have in common? They all include restaurants that serve my favorite dessert, Key Lime Pie.

Yes, Key Lime Pie whose filling is made up of only three simple ingredients but when properly combined produce a wonderful pungent flavor. Poured into a homemade Graham Cracker crust and voila you have a dessert that even Cinderella's wicked Stepmother couldn't resist.

Quick and easy to prepare, just 30 minutes, this delicious Key Lime Pie recipe would make Winnie the Pooh forget about honey for a while.

How are Key limes different

Let me start out by explaining the difference between Key limes and your everyday supermarket variety, the Persian lime. Key limes come from the Florida Keys, thus their name, and are smaller, more yellow and contain more seeds than the green skinned Persian lime. The bad news is they're impossible to find fresh at your local supermarkets but the good news is Persian limes work just as well in this recipe.

I was recently told that key limes are yellow when ripe, not green, but the green ones will work for key lime pie. I have also been told that you can make a very good pie using key lime juice available at most supermarkets. Although it may not be quite as tasty as using real lime juice, it is a perfectly adequate substitution.

Graham Crackers - What Are They?

I remember back when I was in kindergarten, we were served Graham Crackers with Milk as a snack just before we had to pull out our sleeping mats for a nap.

Originally created by Reverend Sylvester Graham back in 1830, these crackers or cookies in my opinion are made from whole-wheat and sweetened with honey or molasses. Originally though of as a health food because the coarsely ground wheat flour was high in fiber.

If you don't have graham flour available to you, try substituting a mixture of white flour, wheat bran and wheat germ.

Print Recipe

Key Lime Pie Recipe

How to make a Key Lime pie that will make you think you are in the Keys

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: key lime, pie

Servings: 1 pie

Ingredients

• ½ cup fresh lime juice 12 to 15 key limes or 3 to 4 common limes
• 4 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 11 graham crackers 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Zest the limes and then juice them.
• Process the graham crackers in a food processor or blender and then melt the butter and have it at the ready.
• Whisk the egg yolks and lime zest together in a bowl until tinted light green. This takes about 2 minutes
• Beat in milk, then juice and set aside at room temperature till it thickens.
• Mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar in another bowl.
• Add butter and stir with a fork until well blended.
• Pour this mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and press over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Try using the bottom of a measuring cup to make sure the graham cracker mixture forms a firm crust on the bottom of the pie pan.
• Bake on the center rack for about 15 minutes until the crust is lightly brown, remove and let cool to room temperature.
• Pour the lime filling into crust, spread evenly, and then bake for 15 minutes until the center sets, but still wiggles when shaken.
• Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
• Refrigerate for at least three hours until well chilled.

Some of you might like to serve it with a whipped cream topping or a meringue topping, but I prefer keeping it simple. If the pie seems to be sticking to the pan when serving, try dipping the pan into a bowl of warm water to loosen it.