Key Lime Bars

If you love a little sour and a little sweet, then this is the perfect dessert for you. I am a big fan of key lime pie. My favorite is from Joe's Stone Crab, in South Beach. I wanted to try out my own recipe to bring to a girls night last week, and decided to search for something that would compare to Joe's recipe. It was easier than I thought, as one of the very first recipes I came across was actually designed/inspired by Joe's key lime pie (Martha Stewart's key lime bars). At first I was shocked the recipe called for 23 key limes! It was clearly my first time baking with this fruit. Key limes are so tiny and adorable, of course you need 23. The bars turned out to be a hit. I will definitely be making these again. Recipe below. xo RCN

Ingredients:

1 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons finely ground graham cracker crumbs (1 pack)

1/3 cup sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 large egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest (very fine if you do not want much texture)

2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (about 23 Key limes total, I used 25)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)

1/4 cup heavy cream (for whipped cream) + 1 Tablespoon sugar (for whipped cream)

2 Key limes, thinly sliced into half-moons or smaller for garnish

CRUST:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium size bowl stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Once combined and sticky crumbly, press evenly onto bottom of an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish. Bake until dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Keep crust in dish and place on top of wire rack to cool completely. (Leave oven on.)

FILLING:

Put egg yolks (just yolks!) and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer. Use whisk attachment and mix on high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add condensed milk in a slow, steady stream while mixer continues to mix. Raise speed to high; mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add lime juice; mix until just combined.

Spread filling evenly over crust using a rubber spatula. Bake for about ten minutes until filling is set. Rotate dish 1/2 way through. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for 4+ hrs.  (I kept refrigerated overnight)

WHIPPED CREAM

Put heavy cream and sugar in cleaned bowl of electric mixer. Use whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. "Stiff peaks" mean the cream should be stiff when it comes to a point. Check by removing whisk attachment and holding the top upward to see if the cream stays standing tall and stiff without flopping down or dripping.

Cut into squares of desired size. Garnish bars with whipped cream and a slice of lime.

Key Lime Bars

If you love a little sour and a little sweet, then this is the perfect dessert for you. I am a big fan of key lime pie. My favorite is from Joe's Stone Crab, in South Beach. I wanted to try out my own recipe to bring to a girls night last week, and decided to search for something that would compare to Joe's recipe. It was easier than I thought, as one of the very first recipes I came across was actually designed/inspired by Joe's key lime pie (Martha Stewart's key lime bars). At first I was shocked the recipe called for 23 key limes! It was clearly my first time baking with this fruit. Key limes are so tiny and adorable, of course you need 23. The bars turned out to be a hit. I will definitely be making these again. Recipe below. xo RCN

Ingredients:

1 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons finely ground graham cracker crumbs (1 pack)

1/3 cup sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 large egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest (very fine if you do not want much texture)

2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (about 23 Key limes total, I used 25)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)

1/4 cup heavy cream (for whipped cream) + 1 Tablespoon sugar (for whipped cream)

2 Key limes, thinly sliced into half-moons or smaller for garnish

CRUST:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium size bowl stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Once combined and sticky crumbly, press evenly onto bottom of an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish. Bake until dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Keep crust in dish and place on top of wire rack to cool completely. (Leave oven on.)

FILLING:

Put egg yolks (just yolks!) and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer. Use whisk attachment and mix on high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add condensed milk in a slow, steady stream while mixer continues to mix. Raise speed to high; mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add lime juice; mix until just combined.

Spread filling evenly over crust using a rubber spatula. Bake for about ten minutes until filling is set. Rotate dish 1/2 way through. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for 4+ hrs.  (I kept refrigerated overnight)

WHIPPED CREAM

Put heavy cream and sugar in cleaned bowl of electric mixer. Use whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. "Stiff peaks" mean the cream should be stiff when it comes to a point. Check by removing whisk attachment and holding the top upward to see if the cream stays standing tall and stiff without flopping down or dripping.

Cut into squares of desired size. Garnish bars with whipped cream and a slice of lime.