Thursday, June 25, 2009

A Little Zing!

I made these bad boys to take to my mother's house for Sunday dinner because my stepfather loves key limes. We grilled outside and had steaks, sausage, potato salad, corn and these yummy lime squares. They're like a key lime pie in bar form- tart, creamy, zesty and buttery. They were a perfect ending to a family meal.

I first saw these on Two Peas and Their Pod. Maria saw them on Evil Shenanigans. Both versions looked luscious, which is why I made them--duh! They both made the crust with only graham crackers and not with pistachios like the original recipe called for. And they also used fat free sweetened condensed milk. I chose to use full fat milk because that's what I had and I added pecans to the crust. And I also added a bit more lime zest to the filling for color. It was nutty, zingy and delicious!

Either way you like, nuts or no nuts, full fat or fat free, added zest or none, you must make these. I suppose if you want something different you could make this with lemon or even grapefruit. A little goes a long way, so be sure to spread the tangy love!

Lime Squares with a Pecan-Graham Cracker Crust adapted from Everyday Baking

Crust:

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for pan
  • 2/3 cup pecan halves
  • 1 cup graham-cracker crumbs (1 package)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon grated lime zest

Filling:

  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated lime zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8-inch square baking dish with melted butter. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides.*

In a food processor, finely grind pecans with graham-cracker crumbs, sugar, and zest. Blend in butter. Press mixture into bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool crust, 30 minutes.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and condensed milk. Add lime juice and zest; whisk until smooth. Pour filling into cooled crust; carefully spread to edges.

Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Cool in pan on rack; then chill at least 1 hour before serving. Using parchment paper overhang, lift out of pan, and transfer to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut into 16 squares, wiping knife with a damp kitchen towel between each cut. To store in refrigerator, cover with plastic wrap.

NOTE: *The recipe says to line the bottom of a pan with parchment paper and leave a 2-inch over hang. This is a great idea, but I think it needs 2 pieces of parchment, one going each way so it's easier to remove. I baked mine in a metal pan and I hard time loosening the crust from the side of the pan. A second piece of parchment would have helped. In fact I had 2 pieces originally and I removed it because the recipe said to use only one...go figure.

23 comments:

Julie said...

Yum...all that zest in there...gotta be awesome :)

The Food Librarian said...

This looks great. Love all that lime zest!

Coleens Recipes said...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the photos, especially the one with the bite taken out of it.

Haden News said...

These look sooo good, they will go on my list of things to make!! Enjoy your weekend.

Donna-FFW said...

Have I told you lately I LOVE you? This recipe is perfect for me to make.. my FFH loves lime! The crust sounds fantastic!

Creative Classroom Core said...

Wow! What totally perfect looking bars! These are just gorgeous!

Bookmarked!

Foodiewife said...

This makes me both pucker and drool at the same time. Look at all that zest! Beautiful, just beautiful.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Your bars look gorgeous! Your photos are always awesome and interesting.

Happy Friday Monica!
~ingrid

Treehouse Chef said...

These look so delicious. I wish I had seen this sooner. My mother is going to a party tonight and the theme is mexican. She is taking Margarita cake, but if she had seen this first I am sure she would be taking it. Also, thanks for the feedback on the cookbook. It was very helpful!

Kerstin said...

They look so perfect with the lime garnishes on top! And so perfect for summer, yum!

Michele said...

These look so perfect! I love just about anything with lime.

Selba said...

Love lime!

The bars look so wonderful, simple but elegant with those limes on the top :)

Debbie said...

Beautiful pictures and a delicious dessert. This is just a perfect summer dessert. They look refreshing!

HBC said...

Just tried this recipe last night. It was delicious. Thanks for posting it.

Mermaid Sews said...

These look amazing - what great photos.

Sophie said...

I'd definitely add the zest :), plus you make it looks so pretty. Gorgeous photos, seriously, eye candy!

Amy @ Keep'n The SunnySide said...

I just discovered key lime pie on vacation.. I LOVE IT!!! I just posted on another forum that I was looking for a good recipe.. it is so ironic to stumble on this post. I am definitely going to give this a try.

Juliana said...

Absolutely lovey...like the idea of pecan in the crust...yummie! Love everything that is lemony. great pictures...specially the one that has a bite :-)

Kim said...

This looks like a great recipe for my mom. She loves all things with lime. Thanks for sharing.

cookies and cups said...

WOW!!! These sound great and the photos are beautiful!!

jenna marie said...

Hi, I love your blog!
I just linked an entry on my site to your site bc I gave away a zester and thought it'd be fun to send my friends your way to show a good place to find fun recipes. Hope it was ok to borrow an image from this post as well to show them how amazing your images are. Keep it up, I always leave your site hungry!

terri said...

I would love to make these for a tea at church, yours look so perfect...do they really cut so easily? I need to make 150 so they need to cut neatly. Thanks! They look yummy!

Monica H said...

Terri, yes these were really easy to cut and they taste just like key lime pie but with the added zip from the lime zest. If you need 150 bars, you better get baking now! Good luck!

~Monica h

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