The Best Key Lime Pie Bars
Deliciously silky Key Lime Pie Bars with the perfect sweet-tart filling, crisp and buttery graham cracker crust, and sky-high whipped cream. These are truly the perfect summer dessert.This is truly the silkiest key lime filling with the perfect ratio of sweet and sour flavors. You'll never need another key lime pie bar recipe!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Makes: 16 - 16 bars
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, about 15 graham crackers
- 6 Tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Key Lime Filling
- 6 egg yolks, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon key lime zest
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 - 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup fresh key lime juice, about 25 key limes
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Whipped Topping
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, cold
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350 F. Grease and line an 8x8 metal baking pan with parchment paper so that there’s overhang over two sides. This makes extracting the bars from the pan much easier.
- Make the crust. In a medium mixing bowl, fold the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter together until a sandy mix forms and the crumbs clump together in your hand when pressed. Spread the crumb mixture evenly in the prepared baking pan and press them into an even layer. You can use a small measuring cup to press the crumbs into the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then let the crust cool completely.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F.
- Whip the egg yolks. This is an important step for the filling texture! Add the egg yolks, lime zest, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they’re pale and fluffy, a full 3 minutes.
- Finish the filling. Add the cream cheese and beat for another 2 minutes, until no clumps remain. Mix in the sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and salt on low speed until the mixture is very smooth.
- Bake. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake for 20 minutes, until the filling is set but jiggles slightly. Seriously, it's okay if it's jiggly--it'll firm up as it cools. Let the pie bars cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Make the topping. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth. Stream in the heavy cream and beat until medium-stiff peaks form. Use a small offset spatula to spread the whipped cream in an even layer over the bars. Refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Cut and serve. Run a knife around the edge of the bars to loosen them, then use the parchment overhang to pull the bars from the pan. Use a knife heated with hot water to make clean slices and cut the bars into 9 or 16 pieces. Top with lime zest and decorative lime slices.
Nutrition
Serving: 1barCalories: 413kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 7gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 288mgPotassium: 269mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 36gVitamin A: 887IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 189mgIron: 1mg
