Key Lime Pie Bars with Toasted Coconut Crust
Good morning! I am up bright and early this morning to spread the good word to you all about these delicious key lime pie bars! I always associate citrus scents and flavors with summer and these key lime pie bars are no exception. They are creamy, tangy and have the a thick graham cracker and toasted coconut crust. And a lot of crust, because the crust is sometimes my favorite part. They are very simple to make and other than the chilling process, they take about 30 minutes to whip together.
Wait, what if I cant find key limes?
So first things first, this recipe like most recipes for key lime pie calls for specific variety of limes called key limes. Key limes, at least where I live in Arkansas, are sometimes difficult to find and usually only available seasonally in the summer. This summer I was lucky enough to get my hands on some but if you can’t you can definitely use regular limes.
Key limes are much, much smaller than regular limes. I would say 1 regular lime would give the same amount of juice as 4-5 key limes. So juicing them takes a little more time, but is definitely worth it. A key lime is a little bit less tart, but when used in baked goods like this the difference is not very noticeable. Another note on lime juice, always use fresh squeezed citrus juice when called for in recipes, not the bottled stuff! The flavor is so much more pronounced when you use fresh juice.
Let’s take a moment to talk about the crust on these key lime pie bars. As you may notice there is about as much crust as there is filling. The crust is made with a mixture of graham cracker crumbs, toasted coconut, butter and brown sugar. Before getting started preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spread out the shredded, sweetened coconut on a baking sheet. Toast for 10-15 minutes. Check on it every couple of minutes and toss it around so it toasts evenly. Once the coconut is toasted it will be crispy and golden in color.
It is easiest to combine these ingredients in a food processor but if you don’t have one you can still make it work. Place you graham crackers, toasted coconut and brown sugar in a large ziploc bag. Then use a rolling pin to crush them to a fine crumb. If using a food processor add the same ingredients and pulse a couple of times. Next add in your melted butter and combine. The mixture should resemble wet stand, and stick together when pressed between your fingers.
Now that we have our crust ingredients ready to go, line an 8X8 baking dish with parchment paper. Next, dump the crust mixture into the dish. Using your hands or the bottom of a glass or measuring cup, press the crumb mixture firmly into the baking dish to create a flat, even layer. We will bake this in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Making the filling for key lime pie bars:
While the crust is baking start preparing the filling. The filling contains cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lime zest and juice, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and salt. First things first, zest the limes before juicing them. You’ll need about 1 tablespoon of zest. Set that aside and get to juicing! We need 1/2 cup of fresh juice for this recipe. Next you’ll combine your softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. This can be done with a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Next add in the remaining ingredients and mix for about a minute.
Let’s finish baking!
Once your crust has baked for 10 minutes, pull it out of the oven and leave it preheated to 350 degrees. Next, pour the filling right onto the crust. Then stick it right back into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. The bars are done when the middle will be set and no longer look wet.
That’s it! Allow the key lime pie bars to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Next, tightly cover them with foil or plastic wrap and stick them in the fridge to cool for about 2 hours, or overnight.When completely cooled and ready to serve you can assemble the whipped cream. You can totally eat these without whipped cream, but I think its a nice contrast of flavors to add it. I also like to save a lime or two to add some fresh zest before serving.
Key Lime Pie Bars with Toasted Coconut Crust
Ingredients
Toasted Coconut and Graham Cracker Crust
- 16 full size graham crackers
- 3/4 cup toasted coconut
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 8 tbsp butter, melted
Key Lime filling
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tbsp key lime zest
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup fresh key lime juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and line an 8X8 baking dish with parchment paper or grease well.
- In a food processor (or by hand) pulse graham crackers, toasted coconut, and brown sugar to a fine crumb. Add in melted butter and pulse or combine until mixture resembles wet sand.
- Dump crumb mixture into prepared baking dish and press down firmly with hands or the bottom of a glass or measuring cup. Bake for 10 minutes on middle oven rack.
- While crust is baking assemble filling ingredients. Using a hand, or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom and edges of bowl to prevent any lumps.
- Add in key lime zest and egg yolks mixing thoroughly. Once fully combined add in key lime juice, vanilla and salt and mix until fully incorporated.
- Once the crust is done baking, pour mixture directly onto crust and place back in 350° degree oven for 15 minutes, or until the mixture is set and no longer looks wet in the middle.
- Allow bars to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before transferring to the refrigerator to continue cooling for 2 hours. Once cooled, assemble the whipped cream.
- Using the whisk attachment on a stand mixer or a hand mixer, mix heavy whipping cream and vanilla until soft to medium peaks form. Top bars with whipped cream and extra lime zest.