Key Lime Pie

Ah Key Lime Pie. Living in Florida I would truly be remiss if I did not make this pie at least once. I think my husband would be pretty upset with me too, as it is one of his favorite pies since I introduced him to it on our first trip to Disney.

Yes, a little sweet, kinda tart, but oh so good in the tummy. And you can't get key limes just anywhere! But hey, if you don't live in Florida, regular limes (Or Key Lime juice... check your liquor store) work just as well!

I have to give credit where credit is due as well. I did get this recipe from The Pioneer Woman. She is amazing as well as her recipes! You really should check her out sometime. Of course... our pies are different in one aspect for sure...

*whispers* I use real key limes.

Mwahahahahahah *coughs and hacks*

Anyway.

Let's get started shall we?

Ah key limes. You are so adorable in that netting. Trust me though, you do not need all 3 sleeves of graham crackers. But hey, it looks nice in the picture!

Go ahead and pull out your food processor (Or a plastic ziploc bag) and pull out 10 large graham crackers. You will need the full 4 rectangle ones for this.

Go ahead and smash these babies to bits. If you don't have a food processor, just smash them in a Ziploc bag by rolling a can or rolling pin over them.

The consistency should be about here...

You're really going for fine graham cracker crumbs. If you want to buy premade crumbs in a box, that works too... we're going for about a cup and a half to two cups depending on how thick you want your crust.

Now shoo away the audience that has been attracted by the sound of the food processor...

Gah. Shoo! You know you're not supposed to be on the bar!

Ah to live in my house.

Go ahead and pour your crumbs into your pie pan.

Then go ahead and throw in your sugar. 1/3 of a cup will do ya.

Then mix your sugar and your crumbs together, so that they're evenly mixed.

I actually like to do this with my (clean) fingers. Don't be afraid to get your hands into your cooking! I think it actually gets everything mixed a bit more evenly than a spoon ever will.

Then go ahead and melt your 1/3 cup of butter in the microwave and drizzle it over your sugar and crumb mixture...

And combine until all of the crumbs are moist.

Go ahead and push all of your crumb mixture down, getting your crust exactly how you would like it.

Then you're going to pop this baby in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. This will give the crust a chance to set. And trust me, it will cool down a bit while you're doing this next part...

The zesting!

Zest as many of the Key Limes as you can. These are small little buggers, and truly to get enough zest for the pie you probably are going to want to zest the whole pound.

Because you're going to want a big heaping Tablespoon of zest by the time you're done.

It's usually about now I think to myself that Ree is right. I really need to invest in a good microplane zester stat.

It would have made my life so much easier.

Once you are done with the zesting, go ahead and juice your limes. Now you can do things the easy way and actually buy a juicer, or you can be like me.

Do you really want to be like me?

Okay go ahead and cut your Key Lime in half. You can either scoop the seeds out here, or you can pull them out of your cup you finish juicing.

The old garbage bowl trick here works wonders.

I also find it easier to just squeeze right over my measuring cup so I know about where I am and how much more I have to go.

Not like it matters. It took me a whole pound of Key Limes to get just over a half cup of juice.

About halfway through I wondered why I didn't just drive to Key West and get some juice there.

It feels like it would have been easier.

But trust me. This is so worth it!

Now take two eggs and separate the yolks. You want those beautiful yolks!

Yeah I broke one. I never said cooking was always pretty!

Now go ahead and mix your juice, zest and eggs in a mixing bowl...

And whisk it all together until combined.

Then pour in your can of sweetened condensed milk, or as I like to call it the most awesome baking tool ever...

And get out your handy dandy mixer.

I don't have a Kitchenaid Mixer yet. So you gotta deal, just like I do!

Someday I will have you my pretty. Someday.

Er, anyway, beat that on medium to medium high for 3 minutes or so. Just until the mixture is combined and thick.

And it will look delicious!

Go ahead and pour that into your prepared crust...

And kind of smooth it out. Pretty pies are happy pies!

Now bake that pretty pie for 15 to 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Really, you just want to bake it until it's no longer jiggly.

Oh yes, like that. Delicious here I come!

But wait. You need to let this cool off a bit, and then stick it in a fridge for an hour to set.

Trust me, it's worth it.

But then afterwards it's really hard to wait...

Top it off with cool whip, or whipped cream or whatever you would like...

But wait for your wife oh husband of mine!

Ugh. Punk.

Key Lime Pie

Crust:

10 Large Graham Crackers

1/3 Cup Sugar

1/3 Cup Melted Butter

Filling:

1 Tablespoon Key Lime Zest

1/2 Cup Key Lime Juice

2 Egg Yolks

1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

To make the crust:

Crush 10 Large Graham Crackers in a food processor or large plastic bag. Combine with sugar and melted butter until moist, form into a crust in a 9" pie pan. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees or until set.

To make the filling:

Zest key limes until you get a heaping Tablespoon of zest. Then squeeze your limes until you get 1/2 cup of lime juice.

Separate your eggs, keeping the egg yolks. Combine the yolks, juice and zest in a bowl and whisk until fully combined. Add in the can of sweetened condensed milk, mix on high with a mixer for about 3 minutes or until the filling is thick.

Pour combined filling into pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until no longer jiggly.

Allow to cool, then place in the fridge for at least one hour.

Serves 8.