Description
Zesty key lime pie bars bring sunshine from Florida’s orchards to your dessert table. Creamy, tangy filling nestled on a buttery graham cracker crust delivers refreshing summer flavors you’ll crave with each delightful bite.
Ingredients
Scale
Crust Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 0.25 cups granulated sugar
- 0.5 cups (1 stick/113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Filling Ingredients:
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 (14 ounces/397 grams) can sweetened condensed milk
- 0.5 cups fresh key lime juice
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
Garnish Ingredients:
- Whipped cream
- Lime zest
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the oven at 350°F and line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper, ensuring complete coverage.
- Mix graham cracker crumbs with sugar and melted butter, creating a cohesive base mixture that will form the crust.
- Press the graham cracker mixture firmly and evenly into the prepared baking dish, creating a compact foundation.
- Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden, then remove and allow to cool completely.
- Whisk sweetened condensed milk with key lime juice, lime zest, and egg yolks until the mixture becomes silky and uniform.
- Gently pour the lime filling over the cooled crust, ensuring an even distribution across the entire surface.
- Return the dish to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, watching for a slight jiggle in the center which indicates perfect doneness.
- Remove from oven and let the bars cool to room temperature, which helps the filling set properly.
- Refrigerate the bars for a minimum of 2 hours to achieve a firm, sliceable consistency.
- Cut into individual squares and optionally garnish with dollops of whipped cream and delicate lime slice accents before serving.
Notes
- Achieve a perfectly crisp crust by pressing graham cracker mixture firmly and evenly into the pan, using the back of a measuring cup for uniform compaction.
- Enhance flavor complexity by adding a pinch of salt to the graham cracker base, which balances the sweetness and highlights the tangy lime notes.
- Create a gluten-free version by substituting graham cracker crumbs with almond flour or gluten-free cookie crumbs, maintaining the same binding technique with melted butter.
- Prevent overbaking the filling by watching for a slight jiggle in the center, ensuring a creamy, silky texture that doesn’t become rubbery or dry.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 16
- Calories: 200 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 90 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg