The heart of this recipe is from the side of a bottle. It's one of those things you look at and say, "Hmm. This looks really really simple. It's either going to be a glorious disaster or gloriously good." Oh, oh, oh. Most definitely the latter.
Usually I love going the scratch path when I can, but I look at those little key limes in the produce section, and think, "There is no frickin' way I will have the time, patience, or grace to squeeze enough of those tiny little things to make a key lime pie." And luckily, with this recipe, I think I won't ever have to.
The filling is from the side of the Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice bottle. I add a little lime zest, but that's the only change. What really makes it over-the-top delicious, though, is making the graham cracker crust yourself. Trust me, it's worth it.
Here's the recipe for this much-requested pie:
Easy Peasy No-Lime-Squeezy Key Lime Pie
Make the graham cracker crust:
1 sleeve of graham crackers (about 1 1/2 cups)
5 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
Toss the graham crackers in a Ziploc bag, and with a rolling pin or sturdy glass, crush 'em to smithereens. In a medium bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs with the sugar. Add the melted butter, and mix. Press into the bottom of a pie plate (and about up the sides), and chill in the fridge for at least a half hour.
Mix the filling:
(Adapted from Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Pie recipe off the side of their lime juice bottle)
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice
Zest from one medium lime
In a medium bowl, whisk the sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and lime juice. Zest the lime over the mixture, and mix well. (See a glimpse of my newest favorite kitchen item, the Microplane zester. It rocks. It zests so much better than any other tool I've used, and it makes crazy quick work of a block of parmesan when you've got lots of grating to do.)
Make the pie:
Pour the filling into the chilled graham cracker crust.
And bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Pull it out of the oven and let it sit out for about 10 minutes, then chill. Best eaten cold! I've been impatient, and it wasn't really worth it.
Oh no, I think a pack of wolves got to this one! It can't be because I can't cut and serve pie neatly for the life of me!
Now just garnish with whipped cream. And enjoy.
Oh, and obviously store leftovers in the fridge. You can even let your guy mark the foil, if you want. (This one clearly makes it into the Two Grunts Up category).
