Key Lime Pie

I know that it is technically fall but I still try to eat summery dishes to brighten a drab day. Today is one of those days. Its cold and cloudy out and I needed a pick me up. Key lime pie was one of my childhood favorites because of its tartness. This pie is not for the faint of heart. It can make your lips puckers. 

An authentic key lime pie stands out compared to "fake" key lime pies by two characteristics. The first being the actual use of key limes. These are different from most limes found in the grocery store because they are grown in the Florida Keys and are much smaller and sweeter. For this recipe, I used key lime juice that was found during a trip to the south. This juice has come in handy over the years for an extra kick in recipes.  You can substitute the key lime juice for regular lime juice but it might not be as sweet and tart so add a little extra. 

The second characteristic of an authentic key lime pie is the color. Most restaurants or recipes call for adding green food coloring to give the pie and nice lime color. A true blue (not really) key lime pie has a creamy custard looking appearance.

Key Lime Pie

Filling:

8 Egg Yolks

2 Cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Cup of Key Lime Juice

Crust:

3 heaping handfuls of ginger snaps or 1 packet of graham crackers

2 1/2 tablespoons melted butter

1-2 tablespoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375. 

2. Put ginger snaps or graham crackers in a ziploc back and smash the crap out of it until there are just crumbs. 

3.In a bowl mix melted butter and sugar with crumbs. 

4. Next put crumbs in pie dish and push tightly on crumbs to form the crust. Make sure there are not holes. 

5. Put pie plate on baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes. Lower oven to 350 when crust is done.

6. Beat egg yolks until smooth and add condensed milk. Mix.

7. Slowly add key lime juice.

8. After everything is mixed, pour filling mixture into baked crust and return to over for 15 mins or until  center does not jiggle when moved. 

9. Let pie rest/cool down then place in fridge for 2 hours.

10. Eat!

This pie would be even better with whipped cream. I was fresh out and to lazy to go to the store so I ate it as is.