The Best Key Lime Pie [and bars] Ever

{when life gives you... key limes}
Oh my heavens, friends. This pie is hands down, the MOST amazing Key Lime Pie. I can't over hype it enough! I got asked to bring a key lime pie to my friend John's, birthday party. I was really excited because I actually have never made my own Key Lime Pie before. Almost all the recipes I researched all included a million eggs- which I grimace at the thought of. I'm not a lover of eggs. We can thank some kind of custard for that. 
Anyways, this recipe has only three ingredients. Three! I love that this pie is so light and creamy. Perfect for summer! It doesn't take long to bake, making it even more summer friendly. You can alter the amount of lime juice you use to your own tastes, you can even add a little zest if want to really pump up the lime flavor. You can't go wrong, kids. This pie will change your life!

  (ya like the vintage look? I do. I thought it was fun for a fun summer recipe)

Ingredients:

Pie filling:

3/4 cup key lime juice

3 cups sweetened condensed milk (about 2 cans)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon lime zest, optional

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/2 cups crushed Graham Crackers

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

Directions:

Juice limes. This can be quite tedious, but so worth it. You'll need about 20 key limes (those are the little limes, not the big ones). What does 20 limes look like? This...

Watch out for all the seeds. Set lime juice aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9 inch round pie plate with cooking spray, set aside. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for the crust, and stir together with a fork until moistened and crumbly. Lightly press the graham crumbs against the bottom and sides of pie plate. Bake for about 10 minutes, set aside. 

In a large bowl, add all ingredients for the pie filling. Mix with a whisk until creamy and smooth. Go ahead and give it a taste... feel free to add more juice and/or zest if you feel so inclined. Pour into crust, and bake for 5-10 minutes. You should start to see tiny pinhole bubbles form on the surface and burst. Do not brown.

Take the pie out of the oven, and set it aside. Once it's cooled, place in the refrigerator for a couple hours. 

Garnish with whipped cream (homemade of course) and sliced limes, if desired. 

I got a little carried away with taking pictures... my bad!

You can also make a great bar rendition, which is great for larger crowds and sure to please everyone! Just follow the recipe the same as above, only using a 13x9 inch square pan instead.

Thanks for reading! Please remember to leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Source: allrecipes