Key Lime Pie

Ingredients

For the pie crust:

• 18 Graham crackers
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• optional: 1/8 cup sugar

For the filling:

• 2 cans sweetened condensed milk (about 800 grams total)
• 5-6 egg yolks
• 1 cup key lime juice

For the whipped cream:

• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2-3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Mash Graham crackers until very fine. I often do this smashing them up in the bag they come in by hand and then using a rolling pin. (Mix with sugar, if desired.) Mix in melted butter. Put this mixture into a pie tie and pat it down so it covers entire pie dish (it should probably be 1/4-1/3 inch thick). Refrigerate crust until firm (at least 30 minutes).

In another bowl, mix the condensed milk, egg yolks, and key lime juice. Pour into refrigerated crust. Bake in a preheated over at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool and refrigerate.

Whip cream and gradually add vanilla and sugar once it’s almost done. This needs to be whipped well in order to keep its shape for several days. Spread whipped cream on top of key lime layer once it’s chilled.

Note

If key limes aren’t available, regular limes work well too. We also tried with lemons, and it still tasted good (more custardy) but we prefer with limes. Squeezing the citrus ourselves (even if it’s then frozen) tastes way better than buying key lime juice from the store. I haven’t added the extra sugar to the pie crust for years, and it’s plenty sweet without it. We tried experimenting with making our own Graham crackers and sweetened condensed milk each once, and I’d like to do that again to have more control over the sweetness. Growing up at one point, we experimented with using slightly fewer eggs, separately beating the whites, and adding that to the pie filling. If I remember correctly, it gave a lighter filling (which was also delicious just different), but I don’t remember the details. I want to try that again at some point.

Section author: Tori