Best Key Lime Pie

My dad is turning 80 (!!!) this week and my mom is throwing him a big birthday party tomorrow. He loves pie so she and my sister Regina had an idea to serve a bunch of different kinds of pie for dessert. Regina is making banana cream pies, another sister is making apple pies, another is making gluten-free chocolate pies and my mom is making cherry pies. I wanted to add something different to the mix but wasn't sure what - then I thought of key lime pie, which I've never made before. My husband and I went to Key West for our honeymoon so we obviously had delicious key lime pie several times while we were there. I don't think I've hade key lime pie since then though! My sister's Godmother used to make it and bring it to parties at our house. I don't have her recipe but I looked online and found several. The main difference between the recipes I found are that some use egg yolks (more traditional) and some use sour cream (more modern) and others use a combination of both. I decided to use a recipe with sour cream. Key limes aren't sold near me, but instead of juicing a ton of regular limes, I used Nelly & Joe's Key West Lime Juice, which most grocery stores carry. I made this in a classic Pyrex pie dish. I made two since there are 70 people coming to his party!

This pie is very easy to make - it starts with a graham cracker crust that you bake for a few minutes. One packet of graham crackers came out to exactly 1.5 cups of crumbs - use a measuring cup to flatten out the crumb mixture on the bottom and sides of your pie plate. While the crust is cooling off, mix together the pie filling ingredients (I only zested one lime and it was plenty of zest) and bake the pie (hint: put the pie dish on a baking sheet in the oven so it is easier to take out of the oven without getting your finger or an oven mitt in the pie!). Let the pie cool to room temperature and then refrigerate it for several hours or overnight. Make some homemade whipped cream and put it on the pie just before serving. Don't forget to add some lime zest or very thinly sliced pieces of lime on top of the whipped cream to make the pie look nice!

This is a great recipe to make a day ahead, and one that I hope I'll be making more often. Next up - I need to try a recipe with a meringue topping like the one we had in Key West - the photos below are from our honeymoon in 2015!

Key Lime Pie from Blue Heaven in Key West

Key Lime Pie from Blue Heaven in Key West

Best Key Lime Pie

Recipe from Mom On Timeout Blog

 

The Best Key Lime Pie recipe EVER! Tart and sweet and incredibly easy, this Key Lime Pie is sure to be a family favorite! A delicious graham cracker crust filled to the brim with an incredibly creamy filling that is just so quick to make! You won’t be able to stop at just one slice!  

 

Graham Cracker Crust:

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup granulated sugar

6 Tablespoons butter, melted

 

Key Lime Filling:

28 ounces sweetened condensed milk

½ cup light sour cream

¾ cup key lime juice

Zest from 2 regular limes or 4 key limes

 

Whipped Cream Topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

½ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Graham Cracker Crust:

 

Preheat oven to 375°.

 

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press the crumb mixture into an 8" - 9.5" pie pan. Bake for 7 minutes. Cool for at least 30 minutes.

 

Key Lime Filling:

 

Preheat oven to 350°.

 

Whisk together sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime zest in a medium bowl. Pour into prepared graham cracker crust and bake for 10 minutes.

 

Let pie cool slightly before chilling. Chill for at least 3 hours.

 

Whipped Cream Topping:

 

Beat heavy cream and sugar together in a mixer until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Spread or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cooled pie. Top with additional lime zest if desired.