Our Favorite Key Lime Pie Recipes

OUR FAVORITE KEY LIME PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust:
• Place rack in the center of oven and preheat to 350°F.
• Pulse graham crackers, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until fine crumbs form. With the motor running, drizzle in melted butter and process until well-combined. Transfer mixture to pie pan and press into bottom and up sides with a flat-bottomed measuring cup.
• Bake crust until golden brown and set, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
• Make the filling and bake pie:
• Whisk condensed milk and yolks together in a large bowl. Add key lime and lemon juice and whisk until well-combined (mixture will thicken slightly).
• Pour filling into crust and bake until center is just set, about 15 minutes. Transfer pie to a wire rack and let cool completely (filling will set as it cools), about 1 hour. Transfer to refrigerator and chill until cold, at least 1 hour.
• Make the topping:
• When ready to serve, whip cream with a whisk or electric mixer to very soft peaks. Sprinkle sugar over cream and continue whipping until it holds stiff peaks. Dollop cream in center of pie (leaving at least a 1" border of visible pie filling) and serve.
• Do Ahead
• Pie (without topping) can be made, loosely covered, and chilled for up to 2 days.

KEY LIME PIE

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined well, then press mixture evenly onto bottom and up side of a 9-inch (4-cup) glass pie plate.
• Bake crust in middle of oven 10 minutes and cool in pie plate on a rack. Leave oven on.
• Make filling and bake pie:
• Whisk together condensed milk and yolks in a bowl until combined well. Add juice and whisk until combined well (mixture will thicken slightly).
• Pour filling into crust and bake in middle of oven 15 minutes. Cool pie completely on rack (filling will set as it cools), then chill, covered, at least 8 hours.
• Make topping:
• Just before serving, beat cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Serve pie topped with cream.
• *Available at Manhattan Key Lime (212-696-5378).

WORLD'S BEST KEY LIME PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together condensed milk and lime juice. Fold in whipped topping and mix until smooth. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

THE BEST KEY LIME PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the crust: Stir together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and salt with a fork in a medium bowl. Pour in the butter and continue to stir until the mixture resembles wet sand. Transfer the crumb mixture to a 9-inch glass or metal pie dish and spread into an even layer. Use a 1/4 measuring cup or small glass to firmly press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake until it is dry-looking and lightly browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack while you make the filling.
• For the filling: Combine the sweetened condensed milk and sour cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add the lime juice, egg yolks, salt and lime zest and continue to beat until the batter is smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour into the graham cracker crust. Bake until the pie is mostly set but jiggles slightly in the center, 15 to 20 minutes. Let the pie cool to room temperature on a wire rack, then refrigerate to set and chill completely, at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
• For the whipped cream topping: Combine the heavy cream, confectioners' sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the topping decoratively on top of the pie. Alternatively, dolloped the whipped cream on slices of pie. Sprinkle with lime zest.

THE ULTIMATE KEY LIME PIE

Steps:

• Make the graham cracker and cereal crust:
• Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
• Spray a 9-inch pie plate liberally with nonstick vegetable-oil spray.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, honey-nut cereal crumbs, and brown sugar. Drizzle with the melted butter and stir until well combined. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Make the filling:
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks for 1 minute. Add the sweetened condensed milk and beat until pale and aerated, about 6 minutes. Add the ice cream and beat until smooth then add the lime juice and beat until combined. Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake until just set in the center, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely then freeze until chilled through, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: The pie can be baked and kept in the freezer, well wrapped, up to 3 days.
• Garnish and serve:
• Remove the pie from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator for 20 minutes prior to serving.
• In a medium bowl, combine the heavy cream and sugar and whip until soft peaks form. Cut the pie into slices and top each with a dollop of whipped cream.