Key Lime Bars
I had a big cooking mishap this weekend, all the result of not properly inspecting my grocery items. We had friends in town all the way from New Zealand, and it’s their first time up in our neck of the woods, so prior to heading in to open the bar I thought it would be nice to make a home-cooked breakfast. I got jacked on these croissant breakfast sandwiches I found on Pinterest - loaded with egg & cheese & ham & arugula. They looked like the perfect breakfast treat, so I went for it. & while shopping at Trader Joe’s, and browsing the new items, I was just so excited to see a Croissant Loaf. I thought to myself “how perfect - open faced croissant breaky sandwiches.” I purchased said loaf, proceeded to make said croissant sandwiches, & proceeded to serve them to a group. & to be clear, this was a savory sandwich. Lots of veggies and herbs, but when I was eating it I thought “huh-it’s kinda sweet.” & in inspecting my croissant loaf post breakfast, I then realized it was a cinnamon swirl croissant loaf. Ummm - definitely didn’t read the fine print on that one. & I’m pretty sure my friends think we probably eat some pretty weird shit at our house. Just so weird & I’m still kind of mortified.
& it was like a waist of cooking, ya know? I mean - I’m certainly not going to blog that one. & naturally, this kitchen failure fueled my desire for kitchen redemption. So I was excited to use a last minute reminder about my father-in-law’s birthday to make key lime bars. I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen him eat any kind of key lime dessert, but he has told me several times that key lime pie is his most favorite thing. So I thought if there was ever a time to dive into key lime desserts, his birthday was it. Plus I had key lime juice leftover from cider experiments, so it was meant to be.
& I would like to say that homemade treats, especially ones of this caliber when I really focus and try to make it nice, are saved for my favorite people. My father-in-law is like the dad of all dads - he’s so freaking nice, and I truly think he’s a gem of a human. The thing I appreciate the most - he has a really nice habit of saying “thank you” & telling you things he appreciates about you. & for me, this sweet habit of his has manifested at times when, frankly, I just needed to hear something nice. Like he’ll say something kind out of nowhere, and it kind of melts your heart a little bit, and he’ll probably never know just how nice he is. But it’s this type of kindhearted nature that also makes me want to to tell people how much I appreciate them, or admire them, or how well they did on something, even if it’s something so small & it means stepping our of my comfort zone. Because it’s a f*cking nice thing to do. So this year I made it a point not only to make him his favorite sweet treat, but also tell him he’s one of the nicest people I ever met. So hopefully it was something he liked to hear.
My new little tip when it comes to bars is to cut big squares. Before even doing that - cut the edges off. By lining the pan with parchment (like I did), the edges don’t look the prettiest. A quick little trim of the sides that touched the parchment will leave straight & smooth edges, & the little trimmed bits were my tasters while I finished baking. By cutting larger squares that equate to one large serving of a key lime bar, they really do look so much prettier. They can properly support a generous dollop of whipped cream & a lime slice, & they’re much easier to handle when it comes to plating them up, or packaging them for a homemade gift.
Tip No. 2 - don’t skimp on the details & go homemade the whole way through. As it pertains to this bake, it means making the whipped cream. Whipped cream is honestly the best homemade, and one of my favorite things to make. It’s as simple as putting a cup of heavy cream in an electric mixer + about a tablespoon of sugar, cranking that bad boy to high, & in just a couple minutes you get fluffy whipped cream. I like a whipped cream that isn’t super sweet, and exists as just a creamy topping. The key lime flavor of these bars is definitely prominent, so cutting the sweetness and citrus with a bit of fluffy and refreshing whipped cream is a nice pairing.
I saved my own stash of these little lime bars for myself, & I ate them with pleasure. Frankly, they were my end of the night post bartending treat, and I feel like I’m burning some extra calories running around our little taproom, so well deserved if you ask me. They were easy to make, something I looked forward to diving into post work, & I was honestly a little sad when they were gone. More importantly, my father-in-law gave them a big thumbs up, so they’re definitely worth another bake.
Key Lime Bars
8-10 graham cracker sheets (about 1 full packet of graham crackers)
1 stick of butter, melted
4 egg yolks
1-14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
2/3 c. key lime juice
Zest of 1 lime (about a tsp of zest)
1 c. heavy cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 lime, thinly sliced into circles (for garnish)
Preheat the oven to 350. Start by then placing all of your graham crackers in a food processor. Add in the melted butter, and turn the food processor back on high until both ingredients are fully incorporated.
Line a square 8x8 glass baking dish with parchment, pour in the graham cracker mixture, and press the graham crackers into the pan for your crust. You want to have a solid base layer of graham cracker crust. Bake for 10 minutes.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg yolks & lime zest on high for 5 minutes (until the mixture is smooth & thick). Turn the speed down to medium low, and pour in the condensed milk. Turn the speed back up to high once all the condensed milk has been added, and mix for another 3 minutes. Add in the lime juice, and mix until it’s fully incorporated.
Pour the lime mixture over the graham cracker crust, and bake for 10 minutes. Let the bars cool at room temperature for an hour, and then place in the fridge for another 3-4 hours (I recommend overnight just to make sure they set up real well).
Place the cream + sugar in an electric mixer on high until the cream thickens and develops a whipped cream consistency. Place final product in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
Slice up the bars, top with the whipped cream + a slice of lime, and serve cold for a super refreshing treat.