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My 7-ingredient Key Lime Bars are a heavenly combination of sweet and tart! With a buttery cookie crust and key lime pie filling, these key lime pie squares are the perfect treat for a special occasion. They take just 30 minutes to prep and bake!
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These were delicious. Will definitely be making them again!
Carroll
Key Lime Pie Crust Ingredients
- Graham Cracker Cookies: You can also use gluten-free graham cracker cookies to make a gluten-free crust.
- Butter: You will want to use salted butter. I recommend a high-quality butter like Kerrygold.
Key Lime Bars Filling
- Cream Cheese: Needs to be room temperature. Let it sit out on the counter for about 30 minutes to soften. Don't use whipped cream cheese; the texture is not the same.
- Eggs: I recommend farm fresh eggs if possible; if not, pasture-raised eggs are best.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Where most of the sweetness comes from!
- Key Lime Juice: It's necessary to use key lime juice, not regular lime juice. Make sure to get key lime juice.
- Lime Zest: Fresh lime zest adds the perfect pop to key lime pie squares.
- Powdered Sugar: Optional, but adds an extra layer of sweetness and beautiful presentation to key lime pie bars.
How to Make Key Lime Pie Squares
Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9x9" baking pan with aluminum foil. Use enough so that it hangs over the sides just slightly. Lightly spray the inside of the pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs using a food processor or a bag and a rolling pin. You can also use boxed crumbs.
- Pour the crushed cookie crumbs into a mixing bowl with melted butter (5 will yield a slightly more crumbly crust).
- Mix together until fully combined, then add the crust to the prepared baking pan.
- Press the crust down until it forms a nice, tight layer at the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes in your preheated oven while you make the key lime pie filling.
Key Lime Pie Filling
- In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese on high speed until smooth using a hand mixer or stand mixer.
- Beat in egg yolks and scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Finally, beat in sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice, and lime zest. Mix until smooth.
- Pour the completed key lime pie filling over the crust in the pan. |
Recipe for Key Lime Pie Bars
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges of the bars begin to brown. If they haven't yet, leave them in for another 2-3 minutes.
- Allow the key lime pie to cool at room temperature, in the pan, on a rack. A wire rack works best for cooling. Once it cools off, add the pie to the refrigerator and let it chill for 2 hours.
- After at least 2 hours, remove the key lime pie from the refrigerator and lift it out of the pan using aluminum foil.
- Cut into approximately 16 bars.
Top them off with powdered sugar and take a bite!
Tips for Making Key Lime Pie Bars
- You can buy a box of graham cracker cookie crumbs from the store, or crush your own cookies.
- For additional flavor, you can add vanilla cookies, too!
- For the key lime pie filling, you can juice your own key limes or use bottled key lime juice. If you're making your own, you will need around 4 key limes for ½ cup of juice.
- There is no need to throw out the egg whites. Make our Mini Pavlova Recipe! It calls for exactly 4 egg whites and is a delicious little dessert everyone loves.
- Don't skip out on adding the aluminum foil. It really makes it so easy to lift the bars out of the baking dish after they're done chilling!
- Cutting the pie. To easily cut the pie into 16 key lime bars, cut the pie in half both ways so you have 4 even, large squares. Then, cut those 4 squares in half both ways to make a total of 16 smaller bars.
FAQ
What is the difference between a lime and a key lime?
The typical lime you buy from the grocery store is a Persian lime. The difference between Persian limes and key limes is in the size and flavor of the limes.
Key limes are very unique. They're tart-like limes, but with a more sweet-and-sour balance, and are less acidic than regular limes. Key limes also have more seeds than regular limes, are much smaller, and tend to have a more yellow rind.
Can you substitute limes for key limes?
You can use regular limes in most key lime recipes, but the flavor will not be quite the same. I recommend using key limes if you're able to. Look for the limes themselves or the bottled key lime juice. Either will work!
How do you know when key lime pie is done?
Your key lime pie will be done when the edges of the bars will begin to brown. The center of a good key lime pie will have a slight jiggle to it in the center (like a cheesecake!) but will still be firm.
Key Lime Pie Squares
Key lime pie squares are easy to make even for a total beginner. Like cheesecake, all you have to do is make the crust and filling, bake, and then let it cool. I guarantee you will love these key lime bars - but you will especially enjoy how simple they are to make!
Key Lime Bars
Tart and sweet with a buttery cookie crust, this Key Lime Pie Bars recipe is perfect for spring and summer. Serve it for a backyard BBQ or potluck, and everyone will be asking for the recipe!
Equipment
Ingredients
Key lime pie crust ingredients:
- 14-16 graham cracker cookies - equal to 2 cups when finely crushed
- 5-6 Tablespoons salted butter - melted
Key lime pie filling ingredients:
- 4 ounces cream cheese - room temperature, about half of your typical container of cream cheese
- 4 egg yolks - from 4 large eggs
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk - not fat free!
- ½ cup key lime juice - from fresh limes or bottled
- 2 teaspoons lime zest - from 1 lime
- Powdered sugar - optional
Instructions
Making the Key Lime Pie Crust
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9″ baking pan with aluminum foil. Use enough so that it hangs over the sides just slightly. Lightly spray the inside of the pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Crush 14-16 graham crackers into fine crumbs using a food processor or a bag and rolling pin (roughly 2 cups of crumbs). You can also use boxed crumbs.14-16 graham cracker cookies
- Pour the crushed cookie crumbs into a mixing bowl with 5-6 tablespoons of melted butter (5 will yield a slightly more crumbly crust). Mix together until fully combined, then add the crust to the prepared baking pan.5-6 Tablespoons salted butter
- Press the crust down until it forms a nice, tight layer at the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes in your preheated oven while you make the key lime pie filling.
Making the Key Lime Pie Filling
- In a large mixing bowl, beat 4 ounces cream cheese on high speed until smooth using a hand mixer or stand mixer.4 ounces cream cheese
- Beat in 4 egg yolks and scrape down the sides as necessary.4 egg yolks
- Finally, beat in one 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk, ½ cup key lime juice, and 2 teaspoons lime zest. Mix until smooth.14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk,½ cup key lime juice,2 teaspoons lime zest
Baking the Pie Bars
- Pour the completed key lime pie filling over the crust in the pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges of the bars begin to brown. If they haven’t yet, leave them in for another 2-3 minutes.
- Allow the key lime pie to cool at room temperature, in the pan, on a rack. A wire rack works best for cooling. Once it cools off, add the pie to the refrigerator and let it chill for 2 hours.
- After at least 2 hours, remove the key lime pie from the refrigerator and lift it out of the pan using the aluminum foil. Cut into approximately 16 bars (see my tips below for cutting the bars!). Top with powdered sugar if you like, serve, and enjoy!Powdered sugar
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Notes
- Don’t skip out on adding the aluminum foil. It really makes it so easy to lift the bars out of the baking dish after they’re done chilling!
- Cutting the pie. To easily cut the pie into 16 key lime bars, cut the pie in half both ways so you have 4 even, large squares. Then, cut those 4 squares in half both ways to make a total of 16 smaller bars.
- Use your leftover egg whites to make Starbucks Egg Bites or Mini Pavlovas!
Nutrition
Serving: 1barCalories: 196kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 4gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 157mgPotassium: 134mgFiber: 1gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 339IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 93mgIron: 1mg
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