Key Lime Pie

What better way to start off my blog than with my favorite dessert in the entire world...

Key Lime Pie

I can't even tell you how many different variations on key lime pie I have made in the past few years!  From frozen key lime pie, to key lime cheesecake, to key lime bars, and now to what I am going to call my rustic (and resourceful!) Key Lime Pie.  

I knew from the start that my first blog entry just HAD to be Key Lime Pie.  However, I didn't exactly plan ahead of time to get the ingredients.  Apparently, my brother has been eating the graham crackers and there was only a half a sleeve left in the pantry!  So to supplement the graham crackers in the crust I used Honey Nut Cheerios.  This is why I call it resourceful key lime pie.  The cheerios give the crust a slightly different taste but it is just as buttery and delicious!  And the key lime custard in this pie is UN.REAL.  Zippy, creamy, and fantastic.  And I love seeing the little flecks of lime zest throughout the pie, it gives it a more natural feel!

Ingredients

1/2 cup graham crackers crumbs

1/2 cup Honey Nut Cheerio crumbs

1/4 cup melted butter

2 tablespoons sugar

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest

Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

In a food processor, separately grind graham crackers and Honey Nut Cheerios into fine crumbs until you have half a cup of each.  Pour crumbs into a small bowl, add melted butter, two tablespoons of sugar and mix thoroughly with a fork.

Press crust mixture into an 8" pie plate.  I find it helpful to use the bottom of a 1 cup measuring cup to pack down the crust and gently push it up the sides of the pie plate.

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer, combine sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, lime juice and lime zest until well blended and creamy.  Pour the mixture into the crust and bake in the oven for just 15 minutes!  Allow the pie to cool at room temperature for about an hour and then put it in the refrigerator for another couple of hours until the custard is completely set.  Enjoy!