Crowd-pleasing Key Lime Pie

I started making key lime pie when my husband and I moved to Phoenix. The condo we rented had a huge, lush lime tree that was just begging to be picked. Sure, the limes weren't "key" limes, but they did the job for this pie just fine.

I've been making this pie for years, but this Memorial Day weekend was the first time I made it without my own, homegrown limes. I still opted for regular-sized limes at the store — have you seen how tiny key limes are? There was no way that I was going to juice 16 limes for this pie...

Anyway. The pie was still a huge success at our Memorial Day BBQ, with many people going back for seconds and claiming it was the best key lime pie they'd ever had.

Here's the recipe. Health fanatics, brace yourself, because healthy this pie is not. But trust me. Some things just are meant to be this way, and are better for it.

Step one: make the graham cracker crust. Yes, you heard me right. Homemaking it is extremely easy and makes all the difference in the world.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs (I crush up a pack of Honey Maid's Honey graham crackers)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons of butter, melted

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and butter together. Press into a greased 8" pie dish (9" would work, too). Bake at 375 degrees F for 8 minutes. Take it out of the oven to cool while you prepare the pie filling. Turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees F.

Now it's time to make the key lime pie filling.

Ingredients:
3/4 cups fresh lime juice (about 4 regular sized limes), plus additional to taste
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
3 cups sweetened condensed milk (I use Eagle Brand, 3 of the 14 oz cans)
1/2 cup sour cream

Combine the lime juice, lime zest, sweetened condensed milk, and sour cream in a bowl. Mix well. If needed, add extra juice and zest in slowly until you get the flavor you desire. Pour the mix into the cooled graham cracker crust (let the crust cool for about 25 minutes before adding filling). Bake in the oven for 7 minutes, until tiny bubbles start to burst on the surface. Do not let the pie brown. Remove from the oven and chill completely before serving.

(Note: I usually have a little bit of extra filling. I store it in a mason jar and spread over graham crackers for a quick and easy small dessert!)

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