Key Lime and Lemon Pie

The holiday season is among us, with Thanksgiving just two weeks away and Christmas next month, I generally try and start getting my desserts ready ahead of time when possible. One type of dessert that I find is easy to make ahead of time and store in the freezer until needed are pies. In this article I am going to teach you how to make two similar but deliciously different pies that I am sure both you and your family will enjoy. I am talking about Key Lime and Lemon pies both of which can be prepped and baked and sitting on a rack in your kitchen to cool in less than 30 minutes.

The great thing about these two pies is that they freeze extremely well. Take them out a few hours before you need them add your whipped topping if you want and pop them in the fridge a few hours before serving. Now you could serve these pies at room temperature, but my family prefers them served cold.

The Recipe

This recipe is easy to follow, and you can make multiple pies at one time. The ingredients are the same for both the Key Lime and Lemon pies with the exception of the juices. For a Key Lime pie use lime juice, for a lemon pie substitute lemon juice and 1 drop of yellow food coloring instead of the green. You can make your own graham cracker crust with the recipe below or purchase a pre-made one from the grocery store. If you want to make a meringue topping for your pie, save the 4 egg whites and follow the directions listed under 'meringue topping'.

Homemade Key Lime Pie

1 graham cracker pie crust

1 (14 ounce) can condensed sweetened milk

1 graham cracker pie crust

4 ounces key lime juice

4 large egg yolks

1 drop green food coloring (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees at this time.

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix completely with a wire whisk or fork if you do not have a whisk until completely combined. I combine the egg yolks and condensed milk together first, then add the juice. Pour the pie filling into a cooled graham cracker pie crust and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until set (in my oven 15 minutes is perfect).

Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Once the pie is cooled, refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream topping just before serving.

To store them in the freezer place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the cooled crust and cover and place in the freezer until needed. Take the pie out 1 to 2 hours before serving and top with whipped topping just before serving.

Chef's Note – If you have any concerns that this pie does not bake for very long, don't fret, this is how it is supposed to be....You see a Key Lime pie does not actually have to be baked. Rather the acid from the limes will cause a chemical reaction in the condensed milk causing the pie filling to thicken. A Key Lime pie is only baked today because of the danger of salmonella poisoning related to the use of raw eggs. While you may be familiar with the neon green version of Key Lime pie found in many restaurants. A traditional Key Lime pie does not have green food coloring added during the cooking process, or it should have a rather muted color is more similar to that of it's cousin the lemon pie.

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

8 ounces graham cracker crumbs

2 ounces butter, melted

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar and mix well. Melt butter and add to the graham cracker crumb mixture and combine thoroughly with your hands. Pat the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and place in the oven and bake for 8 minutes at 325 degrees. When the pie crust is done, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees, the temperature in which the pie will be baked.

Topping Your Pie (Whipped Cream or Meringue)

When I made these pies I used 'Cool Whip' whipped topping because it was on sale and it was just as cheap to use it as it was to make my own. Now, I prefer my key like pie with a whipped topping, as opposed to a meringue, but you may want to try making your own whipped topping and or meringue for either of these pies so I have included the instructions below for each.

Whipped Topping

The trick to making a good and fast whipped cream topping is to make sure you use a metal bowl if possible and make sure that it is cold before starting. So put the metal bowl you want to use in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes before making the topping. It takes only two ingredients to make your own whipped topping. This recipe will top a border on two pies, or cover one 9" pie completely.

8 ounces heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Once the bowl has cooled, add the heavy whipping cream and sugar and mix with your whisk until the mixture forms stiff peaks. When ready, you can top your completely cooled pie right away and keep any leftover topping in the refrigerator for later use. Do not add the home made whipped topping to your pie until is has been completely cooled (after refrigeration) or it may begin to loosen as it does not have any emulsifiers.

Meringue Topping

If you desire to make your pies with a meringue topping then you need to add the meringue to the pie will it is still warm. Once you remove the pies from the oven increase the heat to 375 degrees, and begin to make your meringue. If you try and put a meringue topping on a pie that has been cooled or refrigerated, you may find the meringue does not adhere to the pie filling very well and easily slides off the slices when cut to be served. This recipe is for one 9" pie.

4 egg whites

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

pinch of cream of tartar

Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and then gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Place on the top of the key lime or lemon filling and bake in the oven for an additional 10 to 12 minutes at 375 degrees or until the meringue is set and is golden brown in color.

Cool the pie and then place in the refrigerator until ready to be served. If you like the 'Lemon Ice Box Pie' at Chick-Fil-A, then this is how they make theirs. I worked there for four years when I was in high school and college and this is a great tasting pie.

Cost Breakdown

Pre-made graham cracker crust $1.00 at Dollar Tree. Borden sweetened Condensed milk $1.49 (on sale at Walmart), 4oz lemon juice $0.31 (Great Value Lemon Juice 32oz bottle $2.48), four egg yolks $0.66 (Dozen eggs $1.99), and 2oz whipped topping $0.24 (8oz container $0.94) for a border topping, 4oz whipped topping ($0.47) for a complete topping. I get my eggs from my chickens so I cannot put a price on them, but they are not free when you figure in the cost of feed. But for this article I used local price for a dozen eggs. Total cost to make your own key lime pie at home varies depending on your topping choice and the amount you put on the pie. Without topping it is 31% cheaper to make your pie at home, with whipped border it is 26% cheaper, and with complete whipped topping it is still 22% cheaper to make at home than to buy it pre-made. On top of that, I can guarantee you making it at home will taste better.

Edward's Key Lime Pie with Meringue ( 9”) $4.98, at my local Walmart.

Marie Callender's Key Lime Pie with Whipped Topping Border (9”) $4.97, at my local Walmart.

Homemade Key Lime Pie (9”) $3.46, without topping.

Homemade Key Lime Pie with Whipped Topping Border (9”) $3.70.

Homemade Key Lime Pie with Whipped Topping On Whole Pie (9”) $3.93.

Adding a meringue topping only costs you the price of the 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar $0.02 (granulated sugar is $0.06 per ounce) as you are using the four egg whites that you separated from the egg yolks.

Ingredients List

I have tried to make this article short, but if you want another good reason why you should make these pies at home just look at the ingredients found in the pre-made frozen pies versus the one you could make at home. In this article I cheated and used two pre-made graham cracker crusts that we bought for $1.00 each, so I have listed the ingredients for those as well. So if you want the minimum of preprocessed chemicals and assorted junk, you need to make your own pie crusts as well.

Edward's Key Lime Pie Ingredients – Reduced Fat Sweetened Condensed Milk (Milk, Skim Milk, Sugar, Vitamin A Palmitate), Water, Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel Oil And Coconut Oil), Sugar, Corn Syrup, Vegetable Shortening (Palm Oil And Soybean Oil), Egg Yolks, Contains 2% Or Less of: Modified Food Starch, Lime Pulp, Sodium Bicarbonate, Lime Oil, Lime Juice Concentrate, Salt, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Dextrose, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Sodium Citrate, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Sodium Caseinate (A Milk Derivative), Polysorbate 60, Soy Lecithin, Lemon Pulp Cells, Xanthan Gum, Beta Carotene (For Color), Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids, Disodium Phosphate, Sodium Silicoaluminate, Sorbitan Monostearate, Lemon Oil, Guar Gum.

Marie Callender's Key Lime Pie Ingredients – Sugar, Water, Lime Juice, Nonfat Milk, Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening (Soybean Oil And/Or Cottonseed Oil And/Or Palm Kernel Oil), Milk Fat, Margarine (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean And Cottonseed Oils, Water, Salt, Mono And Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Artificial Butter Flavor, Beta Carotene (Color), Vitamin A Palmitate), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Molasses, Whey (A Milk Product), Modified Food Starch, Whole Wheat Flour, Citric Pulp Cells, Dextrose, Sodium Caseinate (A Milk Product), Natural And Artificial Flavors, Baking Soda, Salt, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Monostearate, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, Beta Carotene (Color). Contains: Wheat, Milk, Soybean. This Product Is Manufactured On Shared Equipment With Other Peanut, Tree Nut And Egg Containing Products.

Pre-made Graham Cracker Crust Ingredients – Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Sugar, Graham Flour, Corn Syrup, Contains Two Percent Or Less Of Molasses, Salt, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Cornstarch, Malt, Soy Lecithin.

Homemade Key Lime Pie Ingredients – Graham Cracker Crumbs, Butter, Sugar, Cinnamon, Sweetened Condensed Milk (Milk, Sugar), Egg Yolks, Lime Juice.*

* If you make your own graham cracker crust.

Conclusion

Making pies ahead of time and storing them in the freezer during the holiday season can cut down on some of that holiday stress that many of us experience when family and friends come together to celebrate. Making your own pies at home can help you save a significant amount of money, up to 31% as opposed to buying ready made 'thaw and serve' lemon or key lime pies. In addition, making your own pies gives you total control of the ingredients that goes into them, just take another look at the difference in the ingredients listed above.

Anyway, I hope that you and your family will enjoy both of these easy to make and delicious pies during the holiday season, I know our family does. As always, if you have enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends and don't forget to send us a friend request on Facebook and Google+ so that you will not miss out on any of our new articles.

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