Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie

Prior to Tom's knee replacement surgery -- which was a month ago now -- we were pre-shopping, i.e., stocking up on things we thought would be handy to have on hand or would be tasty while we were holed up during his recovery.

Tom had LOVED the key lime pie Mary C. had made for him last year when he was recovering from his thumb injury.  So, a bag of key limes were added to the cart, even though I have never made a key lime pie.

Fast forward, this weekend I found the bag of key limes hiding in the refrigerator.  So, Tom asked Mary for her recipe.  Thanks, Mary!

It is so easy!

I made the graham cracker crust, but a store-bought crust would be just as fine.  I juiced the bag of key limes, but bottled juice works just fine.  fyi-The juice was in the cocktail section of our grocery store, not with the lemon and lime juice.

Key Lime Pie
(from the back of the bottle of Nellie & Joe's Famous Key Lime Juice)

1/2 cup key lime juice (fresh or bottled)
3 egg yolks
1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1 pre-cooked and cooled 9" graham cracker crust pie shell
whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Into a bowl, empty the can of sweetened condensed milk.  It is very thick and syrupy.

Separate the egg yolks from the whites.  Add the 3 eggs yolks to the milk.

Stir until well-combined.

Add the 1/2 cup of key lime juice.

Stir gently until well-combined, but don't over whisk.  You don't want to add air bubbles to your custard.

Pour into cooled graham cracker crust.

Bake for 14- 15 minutes, until it set but still quivers when the pan is nudged.

Alternatively,  you can bake it in a slower oven at 325 degrees for 15-17 minutes which is what I did.

Let it sit for 10 minutes before refrigerating.  Or let cool completely on a wire rack.

Serve with whipped cream.

And you add a garnish of a sliced key lime if you wish.

B