Key Lime Pie

I’m home in Boston this week and you know what that means – lots of cooking! My parents and I are not huge dessert people, but when we do make dessert, we usually make key lime pie (my mom’s favorite) or pecan pie (my dad’s favorite). My mom is from Florida and has always made her mom’s key lime pie recipe. It eventually won me over as my favorite of the two pies, so that’s what we made for dessert the other night when we had a couple of friends over.

We have made a few modifications to my grandmother’s recipe over the years. We omitted the meringue topping it called for and added some lime zest in the filling for a little extra tart flavor. She also always made the pie in a standard pie crust, but we like to either make or buy a graham cracker crust. We made the crust this time and I think it really is much better than store bought, but store bought will work if you’re in a hurry. Finally, my mom couldn’t find the 9 inch pie plate we usually use for this, so we experimented and made it in a 10 ½ inch tart plate. It worked just as well and was a huge hit with our guests!

Graham Cracker Crust
1 ½ c. graham cracker crumbs
½ tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. melted butter

Filling
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ c. key lime juice (I think this can be found at most grocery stores. We found it at Whole Foods)
Zest of 1 lime
3 egg yolks

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, brown sugar, and melted butter in a food processor. Press into a pie plate and bake in a 375 degree oven for 6-8 minutes until it’s lightly brown. (It’s okay if the crust is a little rustic looking. Mine was!)

Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice, lime zest, and egg yolks. Pour into the pre-baked crust and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Serve cold or at room temperature with some fresh whipped cream and raspberries.