Key Lime Pie

Yesterday I made a key lime pie for our new Pastor's Installation reception. Why key lime pie? Well because I came across a bag of key limes for 99 cents at the Green Dragon market and I just had to buy them and then figure out what to make. So it came down to the pie or Lime Macadamia Cookies. The cookies will be made later - maybe not with key limes - but definitely will be made. Plus I had never made a key lime pie before.

This was the first time I worked with key limes. And I emphasize work. It took quite a lot of time and squeezing energy to juice these little guys. But I think the effort paid off with a sweet and tangy pie.


Recipe from Emril Lagasse, with my moderations.


1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
1 cup key lime or regular lime juice - I used 3/4 key lime juice and 1/4 cup regular juice from a bottle
2 whole eggs
1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
Lime zest


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter with your hands. Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie plate, and bake until brown, about 15-20 minutes. If you have a pie curst shield, use for baking the crust. Remove crust from oven and allow to cool to room temp before filling.

Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.

In a seperate bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime juice and eggs. Whisk until well blended and place the filling in the cooled pie shell. Bake, using the pie sheild again, for 15 minutes and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Once pie is thoroughly chilled, in a small bowl, combine the sour cream and powdered sugar and spread over the top of the pie using a spatula. Sprinkle the lime zest as a garnish on top of the sour cream and serve chilled.

Before the reception:

After the reception:

It was goood!

I was nervous about the sour cream topping not being sweet enough but it was a nice mix with the tangy filling and sweet crust!