Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Or, if you’re reading this from a foreign country, happy Thursday! For all of the baking I’ve done in my life, my knowledge of pies is fairly minimal – that’s more my brother’s wheelhouse, shout out to Keith who made a crazy butterscotch caramel meringue monstrosity this year – and I tend to stay more in the land of cookies, cakes and their brethren. So naturally this year I made a pie, a cheesecake, and (will be attempting) some tartlets. The cheesecake recipe I used is my very own Pumpkin Cheesecake, the tartlet recipe will be forthcoming assuming that I don’t burn down the house, but the key lime pie recipe is the true star here.
One of my favorite desserts in the whole wide world is my dad’s key lime pie. Every chance I ever got to request coming home from college I would, and in fact when I first started dating the Husbot he ate my pie leftovers and our relationship almost ended on the spot. I can’t really describe how much I love this pie, and the reason it is so incredible is because there is a secret in the crust. Also because Papa Wez is a kitchen master, but the secret crust has a lot to do with it. I asked for, and was granted, permission to post his recipe *including* the hush hush crust secret this year. You are welcome.
Key Lime Pie
INGREDIENTS
Such a simple pie, and so impressive!
CRUST
- 3/4 cup crushed graham crackers
- 3/4 cup crushed animal crackers
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
I like a little bigger chunk to my crumb for added ~texture~
(The Papa Wez secret is to use half animal crackers and half graham crackers, instead of just graham crackers. Don’t ask me why. It’s delicious. You can do 1 1/2 cups of graham crackers if you’re afraid of kitchen sorcery, but just know I’m little disappointed in you.)
FILLING
- 14 oz. (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup key lime juice (I swear by Nellie & Joe’s which is available at most grocery stores because juicing key limes is a daunting task…they’re SO TINY)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 375°F
- In a small bowl or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, combine the crushed cookies and graham crackers with the butter and sugar. End goal, as usual, is wet sand texture
- Pour mixture into an ungreased 9 inch pie plate and press it into the bottom and up the sides of the plate.
I used a 9.5 inch pie plate but…it’s okay. You can use 9 or 9.5, whichever you have handy! - Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes, until it is lightly browned, then remove from the oven and let the crust cool on a wire rack before you fill it.
It requires a lot of self-control to not just eat the crust on its own. - While the crust cools, beat the egg yolks together in a bowl.
- Add condensed milk and key lime juice to the eggs and beat until well combined.
Yeah, literally just 3 ingredients to the filling! - Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust and bake for 15-17 minutes.
HEART EYE EMOJI. - If you’re feeling fancy, top it with whipped cream and key lime slices. Or don’t!
My preciousssssss
The War On Fondant 