Lemons, Limes and Oranges. Oh My!

I made these a few weeks ago and I forgot to share them. Forgive me. I got wrapped up in Hayden's birthday extravaganza that they got lost in the shuffle. I realize Fall is officially upon us but when you have a dessert with this much citrus zest, you just have to share them. Am I right? Besides you have all season long to bake with apples, pumpkins and comforting spices, so today it's all about lemons, limes and oranges. Hooray!

I got this recipe from my friend Memoria of Mangio da Sola. She made these over two years ago and they've been in the back of my mind ever since (Hi Memoria! We miss you!). I love key lime pie and could eat a whole pie by myself, as embarrassing as that is to admit. While I was pregnant with Hayden, I craved it all the time so I was pleased to discover that these bars were very similar. But these are a little different because they have a touch of cream cheese in them that makes these a bit more like cheesecake. 

Busted! Someone discovered toilet paper roll!

Part key lime pie, part cheesecake bar, all goodness. They were creamy, tart, tangy and loaded with flavorful citrus zest atop a buttery golden crust. I misread the directions and baked them in a 9x13-inch pan instead of a square dish so mine were thinner than expected but still great. If you want a thicker, taller bar to sink your teeth into just use a smaller pan. Either way, they're sure to satisfy. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us Memoria. I hope you're enjoying Italy! 

Triple Citrus Bars adapted from Mangio da Sola via Cook's Illustrated

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Crust:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbsp packed brown sugar 

5 Tbsp. butter, melted

pinch of salt

Filling:

2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp grated lime zest 

1 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 1/2 tsp grated orange zest

1 14-oz can of condensed milk

1 egg yolk, room temperature

6 Tbsp lime juice 

2 Tbsp lemon juice 

2 Tbsp orange juice 

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8x8-inch pan (for thicker bars) or a 9x13-inch pan (for thinner bars) and set aside. 

To make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and salt. Drizzle butter over crumbs and stir until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter. Press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling. Do not turn off oven.

To make the filling: While the crust cools, in medium bowl, stir cream cheese with the lemon, orange and limes zests with a rubber spatula until softened, creamy, and thoroughly combined. Slowly add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain; whisk in egg yolk. Add juices and whisk gently until incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly).

To assemble and bake: Pour filling into crust; spread to corners and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.

Cut into squares and serve chilled. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

A (No-Bake) Cheesecake Redux

Mother's Day is a week from Sunday. That's only 10 days away- can you believe that?! Last Mother's Day, I took my mom out to lunch and a day of shopping when I felt a strange movement in my lower abdomen- a tickle that I hadn't felt before. It happened a couple more times then it finally donned on me that it was Hayden kicking me! It was such an awesome feeling and a moment I will never forget. I love that that was the first time I felt him moving inside me. From then on, he just kicked, kicked, kicked and he still does. He loves moving his little feet. 

This Mother's Day will be a special one too because it's the first one as a mother to a living, breathing, beautiful baby boy. I don't care if I get breakfast in bed, whether or not we go out to eat or if I get any gifts wrapped in bows. Hayden is my gift and he's all I need. Well, him and his Poppa. I need him too :-)

I made this no-bake cheesecake a couple years ago with lemon curd and I made it again last month for Easter, only this time I used a jar of Key Lime Curd that I picked up from a Williams-Sonoma Outlet awhile back. You can certainly make your own from scratch if you prefer, I just think a jarred curd is easier. This cheesecake would be a welcome addition to any Mother's Day menu. You bake the crust to set it, but the cheesecake filling is set up with gelatin in the refrigerator so you don't have to worry about overbaking it which means no cracks! and there are no water baths to fool around with. It's also ultra creamy and fluffy and it can be made a couple days in advance. It was light and mousse like and reminded me of key lime pie, but without all the pucker. 

Make this cheesecake for a special Momma in your life, or heck, treat yourself for being so awesome. You could also pass this recipe onto one of your kids and have them make it for you. Yup, that's what I'd do :-). 

 Lime Curd Icebox Cheesecake adapted from HERE
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Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. sugar

Filling:

• 1/3 cup prepared lime or lemon curd
• 1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice
• 1 envelope (2 3/4 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
• 24 oz. (3 bricks) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 teaspoon grated lime or lemon zest
• 3/4 cup sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, room temperature

Garnish: 

• 1/3 cup prepared lime or lemon curd (more or less depending on your preference)
• whipped cream

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust an oven rack to the middle position.

In a medium bowl, combine graham crackers, sugar and butter. Mix until combined. 

Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan. Bake the crust until it is lightly golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Cool the crust completely on a wire rack before filling.

For the filling: In a small bowl, put the 1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and let it stand until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave the mixture until it is bubbling around the edges and the gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Set aside.

In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, lime or lemon zest, sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. 

Slowly add the cream and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture and 1/3 cup of the prepared lime or lemon curd. Beat until the mixture is smooth and airy, about 3 minutes. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and smooth the top.

For the decorative topping: Using a teaspoon, dollop the remaining curd on top of the cheesecake and lightly drag a pairing knife or skewer through the lines to create a marble appearance. Alternately, you could pipe the curd (I put the curd into a Ziploc bag, snipped the corner and piped) into lines or swirls and drag a skewer through it to make other decorative patterns.

Refrigerate the cheesecake until set, at least 6 hours. Remove the sides of the pan, cut into slices and serve.

Serves 12

I mentioned that I made this cheesecake for Easter but I also wanted to show you what my Mom made. She made a Pineapple Angel Lush and served it with fresh berries. It was really light and tasty. Click HERE for the recipe if you're interested. 

Summer On A Stick

Hello again! Did you guys miss me? I missed you! You'd think that being on bedrest would give me lots of free time to blog but I've been watching lots of TV and playing games on my iPhone and a friends' borrowed iPad instead. I'm addicted to Words with Friends, Hanging With Friends and a new game I discovered called BubbleXplode. CAN'T. STOP. PLAYING. I even got my MIL hooked on the bubble game ;-) I've read a few blogs in the past week, I just haven't commented much lately. You guys have been making some yummy things!

Just before I was placed on bedrest, I made these delicious pops. It's so stinkin' hot here--about 106 degrees F every single day! I just couldn't make myself turn the oven on, so I whipped up these bad boys. This pregnancy, I've craved key lime pie like nobody's business. Surprisingly, I haven't made one in awhile, but I want it often and never tire of it. It's just so refreshing and bright and so were these popsicles. More recently, I made coconut lime cookies and liked them so much that I knew these would be a hit. Just like the cookies, the coconut adds texture, while the lime is the star.

I really liked these coconut lime popsicles. The hubby, not so much. He took one bite, made faces because he thought they were too tart and tried to give his pop back to me. I ate mine in about 2 minutes flat, then finished off his. Yes, siree! I was expecting more of a coconut flavor, but was pleasantly surprised that they tasted like frozen key lime pie on a stick. Even the texture was the same- not icy, but creamy and dense. Delicious. I've got a couple left to last me the rest of the week and I'm glad that I don't have to share them.

Coconut Lime Popsicles adapted from Tish Boyle

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• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup cream of coconut
• 1/2 cup milk (whole or lowfat)
• grated zest of one lime
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. (I cooled mine in a bowl set in a water bath to speed up the process. The simple syrup (sugar and water) can be made ahead of time, though.)

Combine the remaining ingredients with the simple syrup in a blender and process until well blended and smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for at least 4-6 hours, or until firm.

Makes 3 cups of liquid or 8-10 pops

In pregnancy related news, I went to the doctor today for another check up. My blood pressure was good, but I still had protein in my urine. My condition still hasn't gotten any worse, so that's a good thing. I'm going to the doctor twice a week and the Mister and I are being monitored very closely. I'll find out next Tuesday just how big he's gotten. 2 weeks ago he was 4 pounds 1 ounce. Anyone want to take a wild guess at what his weight will be next week? Who ever guesses it correctly will get a little prize from me!

A Tropical Party In Your Mouth

Chewy Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies. Let that sink in for a minute. Sugar cookies that are crisp on the edges, yet soft and chewy in the middle, that have shredded coconut and zesty lime in them. Yes please! As my friend said, these were a tropical party in her mouth. I've wanted to make coconut lime cookies for awhile now. Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod shared them on her blog last year and I was set to make them until I saw a different recipe on Foodbuzz shared by Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures. Tracey made both versions and said these were the best she had tasted. Well that solves that problem!

I made these a couple weeks ago and I was intrigued by them because they have a couple ingredients that set them apart from other sugar cookies. Firstly, there's cream cheese in them that contributes to their softness. And there's a combination of melted butter and vegetable (or canola) oil in these that helps with the ever slight crispness on the edges and the chewiness in the center of the cookie. Finely chopped shredded coconut also plays a large part of the texture here as well. The taste of the coconut was really subtle but it was the lime zest that was the star. Because of the softened cream cheese, the melted butter and the oil, the cookie dough was really soft, so handle these as little as possible and work quickly.

I have to tell you a funny story about these cookies though. I shared a few with a couple different friends as well as my mother. My friends ate theirs slowly, savored them and shared only with a select (lucky) few, declared them fantastic, then regretted sharing them because they were gone so quickly. My mom opened up her plastic baggie of cookies, inspected them and asked if I had dropped them on the ground before giving them to her. She saw flecks of lime zest in the cookies and thought it was grass! ha ha! Don't really know if that was a compliment or not, but as least our grass is green and not brown :-)

Chewy Coconut-Lime Sugar Cookies from Cook's Illustrated via Tracey's Culinary Adventures

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• 2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 oz.) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 oz.) sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
• 2 oz. cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm
• 1/3 cup vegetable (or canola) oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, coconut, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine 1 1/2 cups of sugar, the lime zest, and cream cheese in a large bowl (no need to stir them together yet). Put the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a pie plate and set aside. Pour the warm butter over the cream cheese mixture and whisk to combine - the mixture won't be completely smooth yet, that's fine. Whisk in the oil then the egg, milk and lime juice. Mix until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet, until a soft dough comes together.

Portion the dough onto the prepared baking sheets with a cookie scoop, using about 2 tablespoons for each cookie. Working quickly (if you handle the dough too much you're more likely to wind up with flat cookies), roll the dough into a ball with your hands then roll in the sugar set aside in the pie plate previously. Repeat until you've used all of the dough, placing 9 cookies on each baking sheet. Use the bottom of a glass to flatten the dough balls into discs that are about 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with the remaining sugar in the pie plate, using about 2 teaspoons per sheet of cookies.

Bake the cookies, 1 tray at a time, for about 11-13 minutes, or until the edges are set and beginning to brown. The tops will be puffy and slightly cracked. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes then transfer them to the rack to cool completely.

Makes 24-28 cookies.

I had my cookies with a refreshing limeade. Pour chilled Sprite into a glass filled with ice. Squeeze fresh lime into Sprite and stir. Garnish with a girly umbrella straw.

For a cherry limeade- Make drink as above, add marachino cherry syrup (from the jar) as well as a few whole cherries. Enjoy!

The Best I've Ever Had

I hope you'll forgive me for being absent for almost 2 weeks. It seems the time is just flying past me and before I know it, it's been 3 days, then 7, then 10 days and those m&m's cookies are still at the top of my blog. Even though they were delicious and colorful, I was getting tired of looking at them. How 'bout you? I had great intentions of updating sooner but this baby is sucking all the energy out of me. But I'm not complaining because I know how blessed I am to be carrying this miracle. All that means is that you'll hear a little less from me. But when I do blog, I can promise you it will be something good. Really good, like these Meyer lemon-lime bars.

I was going to share with you the birthday cake that I made for my FIL a couple weekends ago, but I made these a few days ago and they were so good they jumped to the top of the list. I made these for a friend as a "thank you". My friend, Lori, brought over some homemade sausage and chicken gumbo and white rice after I got back home from my surgery. After eating take-out for over a week, a homemade meal is just what we needed. Thank you Lori! I know she's a huge lemon fan so I made these especialy for her. But they made so many that I kept a few for myself too :-)

I used 6 Meyer lemons in this recipe, but I didn't quite have enough juice to make the recipe so I added the zest and juice of 2 Persian limes as well. If you've never had Meyer lemons before, they are a hybrid fruit- a cross between lemons and mandarins and aren't quite as tart as regular lemons. They have almost a floral fragrance to them and their skin is smooth, shiny and darker in color. Because they aren't as tart, the addition of the limes perked them up quite nicely. In my opinion they were they perfect combination of puckery citrus and sweet.

I've never made lemon bars before because I've never had one that I really liked. I know that should have made me want to make my own, but I never did. I just assumed they were all lousy and they weren't something I really liked even though I wanted to. But I was so wrong about that theory because I loved these bars. I saw this recipe on girlichef's blog. She raved about these bars and it intrigued me to make them almost immediately. These are a little thicker than the average lemon bar, they have a buttery shortbread crust and the filling is almost like lemon curd, dusted with sugar. If it means anything at all, I haven't had much of a sweet tooth lately, but I had 5 of these! Please make these and totally disregard the fact that they have 3 sticks of butter, 6 eggs and over 3 cups of sugar in them. That's what makes them so good!

Meyer Lemon-Lime Bars adapted from Ina Garten and girlichef

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For the crust:

• 3/4 lb. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

For the filling:

• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. finely grated Meyer lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp. finely grated lime zest
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon/lime juice (I used 6 small Meyer lemons and 2 limes)
• 1 cup flour
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Butter a 9 x 13 x 2" baking pan, then line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper. This is optional but will make removing the bars from the pan, much simpler.

For the crust: Cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter mixture until just mixed.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into the bottom of prepared pan.

Chill the pan while the oven preheats to 350° F.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling: Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon and lime zest, lemon and lime juice, and flour.

Pour over the crust and bake for 35-45 minutes, until filling is set.

Let cool to room temperature. Cut into squares or triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Makes about 24 squares.

I just love this picture of my nosey little girl so I thought I'd share!

Lemon-Lime Cream Pie. Oh Yeah.

I have not been baking or cooking much lately. And I'm way behind on blog reading because Bloglines changed and didn't migrate all the blogs over like it should have- so please accept my apologies if I regularly comment but haven't lately. I'm now reading blogs differently but it's not as efficient. On top of that, things in my life have just been crazy but that doesn't mean that I don't have anything to share with you today. I hope you'll continue to support me as I get my act together. In the meantime here's a delicious lemon-lime pie that I made awhile back.

Citrus is in season now and I've been enjoying the most delicious oranges (we've already gone through 4 cases from Costco!) and Texas Ruby Red grapefruit that I've ever had, but still that's no substitute for tart and zesty lemons and limes. Fortunately they are available ripe and juicy year round so make this pie the next chance you get. The original recipe comes from Zoe Bakes and was topped with a brown sugar meringue. It was too beautiful to pass up but unfortunately her directions for baking the meringue failed and I ended up with a weepy mess that never set up. It went down the disposal along with my bitter tears.

But the filling and crust really was good despite the meringue being a flop. So I waited until I was no longer angry over pie and made it again...two weeks later. Though the second time around my pie was going no where near the oven! I filled the graham cracker crust with the thickened puckery filling and let it set and cool. Right before serving I garnished it with swirls of barely sweetened whipped cream and strands of zest. I have no idea why I never took a picture of the entire completed pie. Maybe it was because we cut into it and ate half of it before it ever crossed my mind. Yes, that good.

Lemon-Lime Cream Pie adapted from Zoe Bakes

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For The Crust:

• 11 whole graham crackers
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• pinch salt

For The Filling:

• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups cold water
• 5 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup lemon juice (and/or lime juice)
• 1 tablespoon lime zest
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

For The Topping:

• 3/4 cup cold heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the graham crackers in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs. Add the brown sugar and butter and pulse until all of the crumbs are coated with the butter and start to stick together.

Place the crumbs in a Pyrex pie plate. Spread them out evenly and press them tightly into the pie plate. Chill the crust for about 15 minutes and then bake for 15-18 minutes. It will not color, but will set the crust.

For the Filling: In a medium saucepan bring to a simmer the sugar, cornstarch, salt and water. Whisk constantly until the mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent. Add the egg yolks one at a time and whisk gently to incorporate well. Repeat with the rest of the egg yolks. Continue to whisk until the mixture is quite thick. If it seems to be getting lumpy, remove from heat and whisk gently until smooth. Slowly add the lemon juice and zest. Whisk gently. Turn off the heat and add the butter. Whisk gently until it is all melted and well incorporated.

Pour the warm filling into the prepared pie shell. Allow to cool on the countertop for an hour undisturbed, before transferring to the refrigerator, uncovered.

For the Topping: In a medium bowl, whip cream on medium high speed til soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat til thick and stiff. Don't overbeat or you'll have butter. Store in the fridge until you're ready for it.

To Assemble: Once pie is completely chilled, top with swirls of lightly sweetened whipped cream around the border or cover the filling entirely with a blanket of whipped cream.

Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve or the filling will be too soft to cut.

Get Your Green On

The kind folks at Duncan Hines contacted me a couple weeks ago and asked if I'd like to try one of their recipes using their mixes. I, of course, said yes and a few days later a package arrived on my doorstep! I had the choice of two recipes and I chose to make their Leprechaun Key Lime Cake just in time for St. Patrick's Day.

This cake starts off with a Lemon Supreme Cake Mix, then you add a box of lemon pudding and key lime juice. I didn't have key limes, but I had a bag of Persian limes so that's what I used. This cake was so simple to put together-- you combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix then into the oven it goes. After the cake has baked and is still warm, it's soaked with a buttery lime glaze while it's still in the pan. That glaze penetrates the cake throughout and makes it's ultra moist and a little sticky. After it cooled I opted to glaze the top of the cake with a lime glaze that I came up with that tasted like a limeade. You don't have to glaze it a second time but that glaze was so good, I could drink it!

This cake is really equal parts lemon and lime flavor but it's not too tart and it's not too sweet. You could always use lemon juice in place of the limes if you prefer. It's light in texture and fluffy on the inside, while the outside develops a sugary crust on it from the glaze.

I really liked this cake and so did my neighbors. Even Mr. H, who isn't a huge fan of citrus, ate it and didn't complain :-) It's refreshing and easy enough to make anytime of year, not just on St. Patrick's Day. Would be great for Easter and you can call it Lemon Lime Cake if you prefer. Might also be good for breakfast....I'm just saying.

Lemon Lime Cake adapted from Duncan Hines

Cake:

• 1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Lemon Supreme Cake Mix
• 1 (3.4 oz) pkg lemon instant pudding
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup lime juice

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.

For cake, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup lime juice in large bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until moistened. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan 25 minutes. Remove cake from pan onto cooling rack then immediately return cake back to pan. Poke holes in top of warm cake with toothpick, wooden skewer or long-tined fork.

For glaze, combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/3 cup lime juice, 2 tablespoons water and melted butter in medium bowl.

Pour slowly over top of warm cake and allow it run along the sides of the pan. Cool completely while still in pan.

Invert onto serving plate. Dust with additional powdered sugar or glaze (recipe below). Garnish with lime slices, if desired.

Lime Glaze by Monica H

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• zest of 1 lime
• juice of 1 lime

In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and zest. Squeeze lime juice into bowl a little at a time. Stir until there are no lumps and continue to add more lime juice until the glaze is thin enough to drizzle. Pour over cooled cake and allow to set.

Be sure to stop by Duncan Hines and check out their recipe index. You may find a new recipe to make for your family that starts off with a mix you already have in your pantry.

Thank you Duncan Hines and Happy St. Patty's Day to you all!

Because They're Worth It

Ahh, key limes! It's just starting to cool down here but it's still rather humid and in the 8o's. I'm not complaining. I'll take it. But to cool down I made these key lime frozen yogurt sammies for Labor Day while it was much warmer. Don't you want to catch that drip with your tongue?

Yes, key limes are cute but they require a little elbow grease. I have a juicer but these little suckers are so tiny so you really need to juice them by hand. To get the full effect and to yield the most juice use a wooden reamer.

Your shoulders may burn a little and you develop a little sweat on your upper lip, but it will be worth it in the end. I promise. Besides I couldn't pass up this great photo op. These key limes were lovely and tangy!

This frozen yogurt couldn't be simpler. It only has 3 ingredients that you mix together and throw in the ice cream maker til frozen. Mine took a little while to freeze so I just poured it into a freezer container and plopped it in the icebox.

I wanted to make homemade graham crackers but I just haven't had the time. In the meantime I used packaged ones and they worked just fine. Any cookie or biscuit would work here. Just place a scoop of the yogurt on one cracker, sandwich with the other and refreeze.

Key Lime Frozen Yogurt from Southern Living

• 1 (32 oz.) container whole milk French vanilla yogurt
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup key lime juice (about 1 bag of limes)

Whisk together all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well blended. Refrigerate overnight (see note). Pour mixture into the freezer container of a 1 1/2-quart electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and times will vary.) Cover and freeze until desired firmness.

Makes about 6 cups.

NOTE: It's best if you refrigerate this mixture overnight even if it is cold. It will speed up your freezing time in the ice cream maker.

I used fresh key limes but regular limes or bottle key lime juice would work just as well.

I used Horizon Organic Whole Milk Vanilla Yogurt and full fat sweetened condensed milk. Fat free can be substituted.

I made about 10 graham cracker sandwiches then I ran out of graham crackers. I found a box of Nilla wafers in the back of the pantry and improvised. I liked these because they were easy to pop in your mouth (which I did several times!) and because the vanilla was a nice compliment to the key lime, but my sister loved the graham cracker version.

I can't get over their cuteness!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway, if you haven't already!