One of my dad’s favorite desserts is key lime pie. Growing up in a military family that moved frequently, they spent a few years living in Key West, Florida. One of his favorite memories from living there was this delicious pie prepared with fresh Key West limes.
I’ve always loved the filling, but I’ve never been a fan of the traditional graham cracker crust. I think graham cracker crusts tend to turn out bland and often end up being an overlooked part of any dessert. Once I tried replacing them with gingersnaps, there was no looking back! This combo is so good, you’ll be fighting over the last slice.
Living in Raleigh, I have not been able to find any true Key West limes. You can juice regular limes if you’d like, but at that point, is it really a Key Lime Pie? Just save yourself the trouble and purchase a bottle of Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice. I found this particular bottle at a Publix grocery store, but I have seen it at other stores as well. Normally I don’t recommend that you buy anything like this bottled, especially since I hate those small fake lime juice bottles for regular lime juice! But I promise this bottle of lime juice is a quality product and the pie still tastes like you juiced them yourself from fresh limes. You can trust me on this! My critics are tough! 😉
This is a simple dessert with a limited amount of ingredients so it’s a great choice if you’re a beginner baker but want to leave an impression. Just remember to allow time for the cooling and resting of the pie. The prep time is very minimal, but it has to be refrigerated at least 2 hours before serving to make sure the pie is set and cold.
You can decorate the pie in any way you’d like! I piped some fresh whipped cream on top and decorated with fresh lime slices, leftover crust, and lime zest. If you’re not planning on decorating the pie with whipped cream, I highly recommend making a batch anyway to serve with the pie. It cuts the tartness of the lime flavor.
Key Lime Pie with Gingersnap Crust
Ingredients
Crust ingredients:
- 2 cups ginger snaps crushed
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Filling ingredients:
- 2 14 oz. cans sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup sour cream
- Zest of 2 fresh limes
- ¾ cup Key Lime Juice such as Nellie & Joe’s
- 2 egg yolks
Whipped Topping ingredients:
- 12 oz. Heavy Cream
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crush ginger snaps in a food processor until you have crumbs. Pour in melted butter and sugar, then pulse until combined. Pour crust into a 9” deep dish pie plate and use hands to press the crust into an even layer on the bottom and sides. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.
- For the filling, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, egg yolks, and zest into a large bowl on a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Mix on low until combined, then mix on medium-high for 2-3 minutes. Be sure to scrape the sides occasionally.
- Pour filling into cooled pie crust and bake 15-20 minutes until the center is set with a slight jiggle. Do not allow the filling to brown. Remove from oven to cooling rack for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.
- Once the pie is cooled, prepare the whipped cream by putting all ingredients into the stand mixer in a COLD bowl. Mix on high for 3-5 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Pipe whipped cream onto pie or serve a dollop on the side of a slice when serving. Keep any leftover pie or whipped cream refrigerated.
