Key Lime Pie Bars

Citrusy, perfectly sweet, as well as tart, and oh so delicious! These Key Lime Pie Bars are easy to make, full of flavor, and truly the best summertime bake. YUM!

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 45

Cook Time: 45

Refrigeration Time: 4

Servings:

Calories: 338kcal

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

1¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup granulated sugar
6 Tablespoons salted butter melted

Filling

10 large egg yolks
2½ cups sweetened condensed milk
1¼ cups key lime juice
2 teaspoons lime zest

Meringue

3 large egg whites room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water

Instructions

Graham Cracker Crust

Heat oven to 350°F (175℃).
Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar.
Add butter and mix well.
Press evenly into bottom of prepared pan.
Bake for 5 minutes.

Filling

In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, condensed milk, lime juice, and lime zest.
Pour over crust.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until set.
Remove from oven, and allow to cool.
Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, until completely set.

Meringue

With an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites to soft peaks.
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan.
Heat and stir until sugar is melted.
Stop stirring and cook to 246°F - 250°F (119℃ - 121℃) brushing down the sides of the pot with a pastry brush dipped in water as needed to keep from crystallizing.
Remove from heat.
With mixer running on medium speed, stream hot sugar syrup into egg whites.
Increase speed to high.
Beat until stiff peaks form.
Reduce speed to medium.
Beat until cool.
Pipe or spread on top of cooled pie bars.
Brown with a kitchen torch, if desired.

Notes

Substitutions:

If you don't have key limes, you can use regular limes!
1 3/4 cups of graham crackers is about 1 1/2 packs of graham crackers crushed.
For something easier, you can use Chantilly cream as the topping.

Expert Tips:

When lining the pan with parchment paper, make sure that you leave enough on the sides to have "handles"! This will make it super easy to lift out the bars.
2 1/2 cups of sweetened condensed milk is equal to 2 cans.
If crushing your own graham crackers, make sure there are no large chunks!
Once you mix up the crust, be sure to work quickly! It can dry out and become difficult to work with/not bake right if left out too long.
A tart tamper or small measuring cup will greatly help when pressing down the crust!
Make sure the filling is well mixed before adding it to the crust.
The egg whites for the meringue need to be whipped to soft peaks. Turn off the mixer and make your syrup. Once the syrup is at temperature, turn the mixer on medium and slowly stream the syrup in.
Do NOT stir the syrup once the sugar is dissolved.
Also, keep a bowl of water and pastry brush nearby. You will need to brush the sides of the pan down to keep the sugar from crystalizing.
Beat the meringue until it’s completely cool. This takes about 5-10 minutes. You can feel the temperature of your mixing bowl to gage if the meringue is cool.
To get super clean cuts, be sure to clean the knife after each cut!
We chose the leave the meringue un-toasted, but if desired, you can lightly toast it with a kitchen torch.

Nutrition