Key Lime Pie

As I have said before, there are very few sweets my hubby will eat. He is just not into them and I think he's a little crazy that way.. but still love him. Key Lime Pie is one of the sweet things he loves, mostly because it's a little tart I think. Anyways, I used to work at a Pie shop when I was in college and Tagg loved the key lime pie there. My boss always made it so I never learned how to make it there. I found a no-bake recipe though and decided to give it a try. He thought it was better than the bakery I worked at. Which says something because we made awesome pies there. It's quite a little process, but well worth it. I recently took it to a family party and everyone liked it. It's SO refreshing on a hot summer day!!


Key Lime Pie

• 1 package (3 oz) lime flavored Jello
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (2-3 fresh limes)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime zest
• 1 can (14 oz) fat-free sweetened cond. milk (not evaporated)
• 1 package (8 oz) fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 9-inch graham cracker crust (I actually get enough filling to fill 2 crusts.)
  

Method:

Dissolve Jello in 1/2 cup boiling water; stir until sugar is completely dissolved in Jello. Add 1/2 cup cold water to Jello, then remove 3/4 cup and set aside. Stir lime juice and zest into remaining Jello and set aside to cool and thicken, but do not allow it to set.

Pour the 3/4 cup reserved Jello into a flat, non-stick 9-inch cake pan, cover and refrigerate. This Jello may be used as a garnish later.

Beat softened cream cheese until smooth; add sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) and stir to blend.

Whip cream until stiff peaks form.

Beat together cream cheese mixture and Jello-lime-juice-zest mixture (product should be thick and light - but not setup). Fold in whipped cream; spoon filling into prepared graham cracker crust. Refrigerate until set (2-3 hours).

Cut pie into 10 pieces. To garnish, use a small cookie cutter to cut fun shapes from set Jello and carefully place shapes on each slice of pie. If desired, add curls of lime zest or thin slices of lime.

The recipe has you garnish with the left over jello, I've never actually done that, I just give the jello to my little guy.