Oreo Key Lime Pie

All those Meyer Lemon dishes that I just did recently got me thinking about summer-y citrus desserts. Key Lime Pie quickly came to mind. Key Limes are found throughout the Florida Keys. They are smaller than the usual Persian Limes you find in the grocery store. Their pale yellow hued juice is also more tart and they are more aromatic than other limes. I picked up a bag of them last week and decided to whip up a pie.

Key Lime Pies usually have a graham cracker crust, which I was all ready to do. But then I spied that bag of Oreo Cookies just staring right back at me. I couldn’t resist them and ended up going with a Oreo Cookie Crust instead of the traditional graham cracker. The crust came together very easily, just popped those cookies in the old food processor, gave them a few whirrs, added some melted butter, pressed the butter/crumb mixture into the pie plate and baked for 10 minutes. That sorted, I turned to making the filling. Let me say right now, I am proud that I actually did take the time to juice fresh key limes for this pie. I feel it gave me more of the authentic key lime pie making experience (though come to think of it,  I didn’t crush the cookies by hand and didn’t feel that gave me less of an authentic cookie pie crust making experience. Hmmm…) That being said, I don’t know if I would do it this way again. I had to juice like 18 of those little guys to get 1/2 cup of juice. I hear they sell bottled Key Lime Juice. Awesome! Sounds like a great time saver to me for next time. However, if you are looking to do an act of penance, perhaps juicing key limes would be just the thing for it. Other than the juice issue, the filling comes together very easily as well. You bake the pie for 15-20 minutes and then refrigerate it for at least one hour before you wish to serve it.

We were quite pleased with this pie. The crunchy, sweet Oreo Cookie Crust went along wonderfully with the creamy sweet and tart lime filling. On a hot, humid summer day, as so many of them are around these parts, there is nothing more refreshing than a thick slice of chilled Key Lime Pie topped with freshly whipped cream.

Oreo Key Lime Pie

yield: 8 slices

Ingredients:

• 32 Oreo cookies, crumbled
• 7 Tablespoons Butter
• 14 ounces Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/2 Cup freshly squeezed Key Lime Juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°  F.

Mix Oreo cookie crumbs and butter until well blended. Press mixture into an 8-inch pie dish. Bake crust for 10 minutes, rotating half way through baking. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

Combine the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice. Mix well.  Pour  mixture into cooled Oreo cookie shell.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove to cooling rack. Allow to cool. Refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight before serving.

Serve with freshly whipped cream.

Enjoy!