Friday, March 5, 2010

Key West Lime Bars



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...My family loves citrus desserts. We don't always agree about which is our favorite and arbitration is sometimes required. Last night I lost the coin toss. The winner, who shall remain nameless, insisted on key lime bars. We have a Mexican grocer in town who will juice key limes if the request is made at a convenient time, he is in good humor and Mercury is in conjunction with Venus and Mars. It also helps if he likes you. I've learned it never hurts to flirt with or be especially solicitous of the butcher, fishmonger and sundry grocers. These days I probably remind them of their mothers, but it could be far worse and I do still get special attention. So, with a source for fresh lime juice at my disposal, I had no excuse not to make these. If you are not as fortunate as I am, key lime juice is now carried by most large supermarkets. These bars are really tart, so I wouldn't recommend trumpet practice following dessert. Recipes for them abound. I use a shortbread crust and a custard that uses sweetened condensed milk to lightly cover the cookie base. The bars also work well with a graham cracker crumb base. These are really easy to make and if you like your dessert really tart you are in for a treat. Here's the recipe.

Key West Lime Bars...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Crust
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Filling
4 large eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 to 2 tablespoons grated lime zest
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons flour
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) For crust, cream butter and sugar until light in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Combine flour and salt and, with mixer on low, add to butter until just mixed. Dump dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan, building up a 1/2-inch ledge on all sides. Chill. Bake crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
3) For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, lime zest, lime juice, and flour. Pour over crust and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. Chill for at least 2 hours. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving. Yield: 20 squares.

You might also enjoy these recipes:

Cold Lime Souffle - One Perfect Bite
Key Lime Sherbet - One Perfect Bite
Key Lime and White Chocolate Cake Squares - One Perfect Bite

43 comments :

Lea Ann said...

Can't wait to make these - they look wonderful.

Mary Bergfeld said...

Lea Ann, they are very good but they are tart. I hope you enjoy them. Mary

The Muse said...

good heavens...adore the image!
Three squares and a slice of lime...
superb!

foodcreate said...

Beautiful pictures love the look of the awesome looking dish can't wait to try ..

Thank you for sharing your recipe ~


Have a lovely day ~

Karen said...

My mouth is puckering just reading about them!

Joie de vivre said...

I love lemon bars so I'm sure I'd love these as well. Beautiful picture.

Susan C said...

Ooh, I'm so excited to find a recipe for a citrus dessert that's tart. Most are too sweet for me.

3 hungry tummies said...

I tried this once many years ago, I must give it a try! Thanks for the recipe and the photo is fabulous!

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

These must taste like spring and sunshine! I can't wait for both. They sound delicious!

Schnitzel and the Trout said...

This is a wonderful recipe and I thank you! SO, no trumpet practice until the bars wear off. I so enjoy your humor!!

Tiffanee said...

These looks so good. My hubby's favorite is lemon bars so I bet he would love these. Thanks!!

Arlette said...

Oh we love citrus desserts as well, and whenever I can I like to use it. Never tried the bar version of the recipe I do an amazing Key Lime Pie , I need to give your recipe a try.
thanks for sharing.

The Whispering Creek House said...

oh my your a cooking blogger! i love you! im so telling my sister holly about you! she is gonna love ya too! thanks for stopping by my blog your sweet words make my day!

Reeni said...

What yummy treats! I love the combo of sweet and tart. And I bet the condensed milk makes them rich and creamy.

♥ Kathy said...

I love citrus too

Allie and Pattie said...

I love key lime juice! I also used it this week! See, great minds think alike! Your pictures are wonderful and I'll add this recipe to my rotation
xoxo Pattie

bj said...

Ummmm, boy...I sure like lime ANYthing but....I sure like your cute sense of humor every more!!

Thanks for the recipe.

Kim said...

I've seen those little key limes in the store. You sure are lucky if you can find someone to juice them for you! These bars look delicious.

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

Oh LOL you were in a bit of a mischievous mood with this post I think? :) That is a lot of juicing indeed, but fresh key lime juice is awesome. I love this recipe, but I wonder... what dessert would YOU have chosen?

Lyndas recipe box said...

Flirting huh? Well whatever works, and these bars look like they were worth it! LOL!
Seriously, these bars are calling my name, so I'd better get ready to pucker up!

Mary Bergfeld said...

Mary, it would definitely have been lemon pudding cake with apricot sauce.

Alea Milham said...

The bars look delicious! I also believe in befriending everyone I encounter while shopping. They remember my preferences and I often learn new tips while chatting with them.

CC said...

Yummmmmmmmm..Key lime and lemon and my two favorite flavors. Ohh yumm,I know this is so good.

Federica Simoni said...

mmmmmmmmm..deve essere delizioso!! baci!

Deb in Hawaii said...

Mmm...I love anything key lime. They look great!

Anusce@Ciao-Chow said...

The Key Lime Squares look amazing! And I love the photo!! Great job!

Martha said...

Oh my these look delicious! Thanks for adding your other links to key lime recipes too - I have tons of nice fresh Florida Key limes right off the tree at the moment :-)

PS - Key lime cheesecake totally rocks!

chefany said...

Oh these look so good! I love the gooey lemon bars and with Key Lime...WOW I am making these for sure!
thanks!!

Sinful Southern Sweets said...

Mary, you are quite a card. I love to read a well-written and humorous blog. And yours is exactly that! I adore key lime, but I have never made these wonderful looking bars. They look nice and spring-like. I believe they would be just perfect for easter.....or tomorrow :) Have a great weekend!

Judy said...

Key lime pie or bars are one of my fave desserts. I use a lime squeezer that I bought from Wal-Mart to juice the limes, putting 2 halves in at a time. It goes pretty fast.

Lottie said...

Happy Pink Saturday! I enjoyed visiting your blog this morning! Looks like a lot of good food!
Lottie

Foley said...

I just made some key lime bars (from a box) shhh... Can't wait to try yours!

Sasha said...

Oh, these look like a vision of tart perfection!

Deborah said...

I'd dare say that I prefer citrus over chocolate. THese look phenomenal!

Puna said...

These are some of my absolute favorites and I never knew how to make them. I'm definitely following your recipe one day!

Lucy said...

I am such a lover of all things citrus - these have my mouth-watering. Delicious!

hobby baker Kelly said...

I adore my mom's lemon bars so I love that yours have a short crust and are nice and tart. My hubby is kind of a tart wimp so I don't make them often, (that and the fact that I could eat an entire pan by myself), but I really like lime juice; I'll have to try these out. I've never tried a recipe with the condensed milk, so maybe that will mellow these out enough for him... :)

Katy ~ said...

Yummm...sometimes tart is just the perfect answer...I would love this!

My Little Space said...

This sounds fabulous! I love the lime juice flavour. I bet it smell terrific!

Peggy said...

I love a great tart dessert and these sound delicious!

Bit of Butter said...

Oh, these look great. And your photography is amazing!

Barbara said...

These look so good and I fully intend on making them, therefore I need to comment on the "Filling Instructions". There is no mention of the Condensed Milk in the filling instructions. Even though I expect it's whisked with the other ingredients, I thought you might want to edit the recipe to reflect this. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes and expertise with us.

Mary Bergfeld said...

Barbara, thanks so much! I've added the condensed milk to the instructions. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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