Key Lime Pie is made with a thick buttery graham cracker crust with a sweet and tart creamy filling that all comes together with not much effort in about 30 minutes.
Recipe Inspiration
The first time I had key lime pie was in Hawaii when I was in high school. My parents had saved up for a big vacation and one of the first nights when we were jet lagged, we ordered room service. I begged my parents to let me order a slice of key lime pie for dessert. I had never had key lime pie before and it sounded exotic to me. It was one of the best desserts I had ever had, and I still associate it with Hawaii.
Not too long after coming home, I tried making it myself. I was put off by how much effort it took to squeeze all the limes (I did not have any sort of citrus reamer or juicer), and I was unpleasantly surprised that a good portion of the dessert was sweetened condensed milk. At the time I liked the mystery of this “exotic” dessert and was disappointed by what I learned actually went into it.
I didn’t have key lime pie too often until more recently when we discovered that a local grocery store carried an excellent version by a company called Mike’s Pies. Then even more recently, I ordered the key lime pie at A Lowcountry Backyard Restaurant on Hilton Head Island, and it was super good. It inspired me to work on this recipe below.
Skip the Lime Zest
After trying several different variations of this I learned a few things. The first is that lime zest seems to make absolutely no difference to the flavor of the pie. To me, it is just not worth it to go through the effort of zesting any limes, unless you want to add some lime zest on top just prior to serving for decoration. Keep in mind that the zest itself will start to turn brown and won’t be a pretty green color for too long, so you really do want to add it just before serving.
Graham Cracker Crust
Second, graham crackers seem to come in packs of 9, but 9 isn’t quite enough to make a pie crust out of. There’s not too much to this pie, so to me, it was important to have a decent crust, not one that was patchy in places. Also, to make things simpler it’s nice to be able to just use one stick of butter (8 tbsp). That way you're not only using 7 tablespoon and having 1 tablespoon leftover to wrap up in the fridge. Or using 9 tablespoon and needing to pull out an extra stick of butter. 8 tablespoon butter to 12 graham crackers is the right proportion.
If you're looking for a slightly different take on a Key Lime Pie crust, try this Biscoff Pie Crust.
Key Lime Pie Baking Time
Lastly, some recipes call for shorter baking time but then I find that the filling is too soft, and I prefer the filling to be somewhat firmer, but still nice and creamy. With my oven, the best timing is 14 minutes, before browning, but enough time to let the filling firm up. This really will all depend on your oven and its idiosyncrasies, so you’ll just have to pay attention and adjust according to your own oven’s heat level. In a newer oven, it might bake faster.
Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 8 tablespoon butter
- 12 graham crackers
Key Lime Filling
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup lime juice (3-4) limes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Melt the butter in a medium bowl in the microwave.
- Add the graham crackers to a gallon sized plastic bag and crush into fine crumbs. I typically use a rolling pin. Add the graham crackers to the bowl and combine with the butter.
- Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove and set aside. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, whip the 4 egg yolks on medium speed for 4 minutes. Add the sweetened condensed milk and beat for another 4 minutes. Then add the lime juice and stir with a large spoon to combine.
- Add the mixture to the pie crust and bake for 14 minutes at 350°F. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and then refrigerate for several hours before serving. You can probably get away with 2 hours, but longer would be better.
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