Luscious Key Lime Bars

Given the choice of dessert 9 out of 10 times I will pick the one that contains lemon or lime, especially in a creamy form over any other.

This is of course assuming that a crème brulee is not one of the choices.  But that is another post all together.

I love everything about the tart members of the citrus family.  I love their scent, I love their color, I love how they look all sliced up.  But above all, I love their sour bite.  That little thrill that runs down my spine as the acidic drops first hit my tongue, making my mouth tingle and my lips pucker!

I strongly believe that the addition of lemon/lime juice will improve just about anything!

Thus it is not terribly surprising that I have a wild infatuation with key lime pie!

Key lime pie, made well is a sublime thing.  Tart and creamy, it embodies everything that I love in a dessert.  Key lime pie made poorly is indeed one of the saddest culinary tragedies!

And though key lime pie is not that hard to make, it is far too often made incorrectly.  The perfect pie has a vibrant, distinctively citrus taste that is enhanced by a not to sweet and devilishly creamy foundation.  Key lime pie is about the key lime.  It is not suppose to be candy sweet.

Nor does the pie need to be rubbery.  If you can bounce a quarter off the surface… you have done it wrong.  The acid in the lime juice sets the sweetened condensed milk, sometimes with a little bit catalytic action from heat.  This is one case where there is just no room for Jell-O!

It is the pure simplicity of the pie that makes it so attractive.

I have but one complaint about key lime pies… the crust.  Or rather the crust to filling ratio.  Not being a fan of crusts in general I would much rather prefer an itty-bit shred of crust, just enough to give the filling a base, and lots of tart creamy goodness.

It is thus that I turned my attention to key lime bars.  Bars have a bottom crust but no side crust.  And best of all they are little and square and can thus be picked up with the fingers and carried off for the most nefarious of purposes.  Including the surreptitious licking of fingers which have mysteriously become coated in key lime.  However that happened!

My first stop was of course Cook’s Illustrated.  I have used their key lime recipe before to spectacular results.  Their key lime pie recipe is a never fail stunner that has the solitary flaw of far too much crust.  So I figured that their key lime squares recipe would be equally good.

I was partially right.  The flavor was as wonderful and intense as I had hoped but sadly there was far too little filling.  Part of that was my fault for using a 9x9 inch pan rather than the 8x8 that they recommend in the recipe.  But the other part is that their test kitchen simply prefers a higher crust to filling ratio than I do.  Next time I will simply double the amount of filling for the same crust.

The crust was also quite a bit better than the traditional graham cracker crust.  Using the less sweet and less distinctively flavored animal crackers creates a crunchy crust that does not dull the beautiful delicate filling.  I was lucky enough to find cinnamon animal crackers which were an ideal paring!

This recipe produced very tasty, stable bars that held their shape even in a warm room.  The perfect dessert to set out on a buffet table.  Unfortunately they didn’t slice up very well, taking on cheesecakes tendency to bunch up on the blade.  Even carefully wiping of my knife didn’t keep the edges from curling.

But that could be easily remedied by a quick rosette of whipped cream and a sprinkle of something colorful!

Besides, after everyone gets a taste, no one will care that the edges aren’t perfect.

Luscious Key Lime Bars
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

Crust
5 ounces animal crackers, preferably cinnamon
Pinch table salt 
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Filling
4 ounces cream or Neufchatel cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoon grated lime zest, minced
Pinch table salt 
2 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 
2 egg yolk 
1 cup fresh lime juice [1]

Garnish (optional)
¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut , toasted until golden and crisp
Whipped cream or whipped topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Lightly butter a 9x9 inch pan.  Take a 12 inch piece of foil and fold both sides under to create a 8 ½ inch strip.  Line the bottom of the pan with the strip, tucking the overhang over the sides.  Lightly grease the foil, preferably with a nonstick spray.

Using the food processor, grind the animal crackers into fine, even crumbs.  Add the butter and pulse until evenly distributed.  Pour the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and press into a thin, even layer using the back of a spoon or a measuring cup.  Be certain to press firmly.

Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until the crust is golden brown.  Set aside to cool, but do not turn off the oven.

While the crust cools, whisk together zest, salt and cream cheese.  Having the cheese at room temperature or slightly warmed by the microwave is very helpful.  Add the sweetened condensed milk and whisk until smooth.  This is easier if you add a little bit of the milk (about a quarter cup) first and mix until there is no lump then pour in the rest and combine.  Add the egg yolks and whisk until incorporated.  Slowly add the lime juice.  Continue to whisk gently until the mixture thickens slightly.

Pour the mixture into the cooled crust and bake until the edges are set and begin to pull away from the sides.  About 20 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours or better yet, put in the fridge over night.  When ready to serve, run a knife along the edges to loose and lift out using the foil sling.

Cut into 25 squares and serve.  Decorate with a little whipped cream and toasted coconut if you like.

I prefer mine plain.

[1]  DO NOT use bottles lime juice.  Because lime is the star flavor in this recipe bottled lime juice will produce unpleasant result.  It is however perfectly acceptable to use regular Persian limes in this.  They will not taste the same but they will still be very good.  In the end it may come down to effort.  It takes about 40-50 key times to make a cup of juice where is it takes about 6 Persian limes.  And don’t even get me started on zesting those tiny little bobbles.

Comments

[Tanna]

It looks like you really twisted this recipe to a new level perfection. I say bravo! Thanks for the though process of how and what you were going for, excellent.

[Kitarra]

Tanna,

Thank you! I love playing and tweaking recipes its like getting to play in the kitchen!

[aria]

ohyeah meeee tooo on the creamy lemon/lime variant. love it. these look like i'd have to eat about 5 immediately. the pomegranite seeds look so pretty too

[emily]

pairing the key lime bars/pie with pomegranate seeds is a great idea. i've done it twice now and everyone loves it!

[Kitarra]

Emily,

I love the lime and pomegranate combination! Glad it's a hit with you and yours too! I think it's an underutilized flavor combination. I might have to try it in a truffle!

[karina]

I tried this recipe... and I must say. WOW!! I think I ate half of them myself. You have the best recipes on here. I know this is an old one but keep it up. YUM!!