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The (IMO) Best Key Lime Pie Recipe

This easy key lime pie provides a silky, tart lime custard in a sweet cinnamon-studded graham cracker crust. It's a perfect traditional take, the best homemade key lime pie recipe around!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time18 minutes
Additional Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 38 minutes
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American
Servings: 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients

  • FILLING
  • 1 14- ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup of fresh lime juice OR Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice
  • Zest of 1 lime see notes; leave out if using bottled key lime juice
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • CRUST
  • About 9 graham crackers
  • 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter melted and cooled
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • Optional: homemade whipped cream to serve

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350º F.
  • In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk all of the filling ingredients together, and set aside to thicken while you prepare the crust.
  • Blitz the graham crackers in a food processor to fine crumbs. Add the sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and pulse to combine. Finally, add in the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand.
  • Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie dish (metal works best, but Pyrex is fine) evenly on the bottom and up the sides.  You want the shallow kind, not the deep-dish. The bottom of a glass or measuring cup can help with pressing it smoothly.
  • Bake the crust until it is light golden brown and fragrant, 11 to 13 minutes.  Remove from the oven and turn the oven down to 325 F.
  • Allow the crust to cool for a few minutes, then give you filling a stir and pour it into the crust.
  • Bake the pie until just set, but slightly wiggly in the center.  This should take 15 to 17 minutes (for me always around 17), and if using the bottled key lime juice it may need more like 20-21 minutes.
  • Cool the pie to room temperature, then set it in the fridge to chill completely, at least 3 hours or overnight.
  • Just before serving, you can whip the cream to soft peaks, and spread it on top of the pie.  Personally for me this is gilding the lily.

Notes

  1. The original recipe calls for 4 teaspoons of lime zest, but I mostly left it out to get a silkier custard (don't think it really added too much to flavor)
  2. You could use store-bought graham cracker pie crust but it's definitely not as good on flavor or texture