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What You Need to Make Key Lime Pie<\/h2>\n
Most key lime pie recipes only call for a handful of ingredients. <\/p>\n
Key limes (juice and zest).<\/strong> Given that it\u2019s in the recipe\u2019s name, this is your most crucial ingredient. And no\u2014when you\u2019re making the classic summertime pie, you can\u2019t shortcut it with key lime juice. For the best flavor, select limes that are plump and give a little when squeezed. (This makes them easier to juice.) Don\u2019t forget: always zest your limes before squeezing. <\/p>\nSweetened condensed milk.<\/strong> This is canned milk from which water has been removed and sugar has been added (not to be confused with evaporated milk). It\u2019s what gives your pie a sweet, creamy flavor and texture without the extra moisture you\u2019d get from regular milk or cream.<\/p>\nEgg yolks.<\/strong> Some recipes have them, others don\u2019t. In the ones that do, not only do they help the pie set, but the yolks lend a nice richness to each bite. <\/p>\nGraham cracker crumbs.<\/strong> For many people, this is their favorite part of the pie. A traditional graham cracker crust yields a buttery layer underneath the cool, creamy filling. <\/p>\nHeavy cream.<\/strong> This will be for your whipped cream topping. And while optional, I love the fluffy white cloud that lightly sits atop each slice. Whipped up with some powdered sugar and vanilla extract, the flavor is simple but sublime.<\/p>\nIngredient Substitutions<\/h2>\n
A mix of fresh lemon and lime juice.<\/strong> If you don\u2019t have key limes readily available, you can mimic their tart, floral flavor by opting for a 1:1 blend of lemon and lime juice. Freshly squeezed, of course.<\/p>\nCoconut milk.<\/strong> In a saucepan, whisk together a can of full-fat coconut milk with 1\/4 cup of sugar. Bring to just below a boil and simmer for 30 minutes until thickened. The resulting flavor will lean a little tropical\u2014perfect for the vibe of your key lime pie. It\u2019s a great dairy-free alternative to sweetened condensed milk.<\/p>\nCrisp cookies.<\/strong> If you\u2019re not a graham cracker enthusiast or simply ran out, you can swap in nearly any other crisp cookie for a similar texture in your crust. Think: speculoos or ginger snaps, animal crackers, or even vanilla wafers. All will change up the flavor slightly, but add their own unique variation.<\/p>\n\n
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When I first tried this recipe, I had to go back and double-check that I hadn\u2019t missed something, which usually isn\u2019t a great start. <\/p>\n
Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Easy to prepare.<\/strong> The pie is almost entirely no-bake with the exception of the graham cracker crust, which is baked then filled and frozen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Raw eggs yolks.<\/strong> Because this pie is frozen, the raw egg yolks remain raw. Some traditionalists note that key lime pies can be made with an uncooked filling, but we found that the flavor leaned eggy as a result.<\/li>\n
- Texture.<\/strong> The recipe says to set the pie out ahead of slicing so you can slice through. However, the pie was practically melted within 30 minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The takeaway:<\/strong> Overall, I like the novelty of a frozen pie, but we had a few structural qualms with this one. If you try it, eat it straight out of the freezer to ensure a solid pie.<\/p>\n\n
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Our notes on this pie were pretty positive and everyone enjoyed their slices. There were, however, a few technicalities that felt unnecessary rather than truly additive to the pie\u2019s overall quality.<\/p>\n
Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Good flavor.<\/strong> The flavors were very well-balanced without being too sweet, and the acidity of the lime cut through the indulgent creaminess beautifully.<\/li>\n
- Efficient use of ingredients.<\/strong> Because the filling only calls for yolks, you use the leftover egg whites in the meringue topping.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Meringue topping.<\/strong> There was some debate about whether the meringue topping was necessary. While the salted vanilla meringue was tasty, most taste testers preferred a whipped cream topping to the meringue. <\/li>\n
- Too many unnecessary steps.<\/strong> As the person who assembled every single recipe, I thought it was a lot of extra effort and dishes to make meringue when whipped cream would have been perfectly fine. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The takeaway:<\/strong> In the end, this pie recipe was good, but some of the other recipes edged it out on technicalities.<\/p>\n\n
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To be clear: this is a really good key lime pie recipe. However, the lack of lime zest yields a flavor that\u2019s less of the traditional tangy punch. And while still delicious, we\u2019re after something that distinctly screams key lime pie.<\/p>\n
Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Vanilla extract.<\/strong> While many other recipes also include vanilla extract, here, it added a lovely floral bite to the filling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- No lime zest.<\/strong> We were skeptical at first when we realized this recipe only called for lime juice. It could use a little more of the classic key lime flavor the zest delivers.<\/li>\n
- Slightly too sweet.<\/strong> Again, slightly<\/em>. If you have a sweet tooth, you\u2019ll love it. But if you like your desserts to have a savory edge, you\u2019ll want to skip this one.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The takeaway:<\/strong> If you want to punch up the limey-ness, mix zest into the filling. The texture was incredibly smooth and overall, this made for a pretty good pie.<\/p>\n\n
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This key lime pie had all the makings of a classic and earned very high marks. The recipe combines Miette\u2019s homemade graham crackers with Martha Stewart\u2019s Key Lime Pie Filling mixed together in one pie pan. <\/p>\n
Yes it\u2019s extra effort, so you have my permission to use store-bought crackers. When it came to the final judging, we loved the filling\u2019s zingy, lime-filled flavor. And with this pie\u2019s creamy texture, we were all fast fans.<\/p>\n
Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Homemade graham crackers.<\/strong> I\u2019ll admit, this was my first thought: Do we really need to make homemade graham crackers when it\u2019s so easy (and convenient!) to buy a box?<\/em> However, the homemade crackers give the crust a noticeable textural difference. It\u2019s crisp while retaining an unbelievable butteriness that pairs so well with the creamy filling.<\/li>\n
- Flavor.<\/strong> This pie\u2019s filling is zingy and filled with lime-forward flavor.<\/li>\n
- Texture.<\/strong> Creamy doesn\u2019t begin to describe the perfect, luscious bite. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Time-intensive.<\/strong> Because this recipe calls for a few additional steps (hello, homemade graham crackers), this is not a project to be taken on when you\u2019re in a time crunch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The takeaway:<\/strong> This pie is delicious and exciting, making the most of a unique approach that, while requiring extra time, is totally worth the effort.<\/p>\nDrumroll please\u2026 this might be one of the best key lime pies I\u2019ve ever had. But I\u2019ll admit: I was skeptical at first because of the coconut milk added to the filling. I knew the flavor would work well, but I didn\u2019t know if it would be too overpowering when paired with the limes. <\/p>\n
Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Coconut milk in place of the sweetened condensed milk.<\/strong> Again, I was skeptical. However, the coconut milk acted as a nice sweet base that helped temper the lime and kept it from being too acidic. <\/li>\n
- Well-balanced flavor.<\/strong> The lime flavor was upfront without being overwhelming, and the one thing I noticed after baking every single pie was that Adriana\u2019s recipe is the only one that calls for salt in the filling. That makes a difference in terms of bringing out the flavors. <\/li>\n
- Texture.<\/strong> Absolute perfection, with a thick creaminess that\u2019s hard (re: impossible) to pass up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The takeaway:<\/strong> With zero cons to cite, this is the undisputed best key lime pie recipe. In fact, it\u2019s the only one that all of my taste testers ate in its entirety. Run, don\u2019t walk to make this pie.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n