Key Lime Pie

Here’s a delicious summer dessert.  Is it as good as the pies you can find in Key West? No. But it was a hit at Jellopalooza 2, scoring 3.7 on a scale of 1-5. The jello gives the pie a smooth consistency, and the condensed milk cuts the tartness with some sweetness.  It didn’t turn out too pretty because I had covered it with foil while it chilled, and some of the pie ended up sticking to the foil.

Here’s the recipe.

1 package (3 oz.) lime jello
1 cup boiling water
1-2 teaspoons grated lime rind
1/2 cup lime juice
1 egg yolk, well beaten
1 1/3 cups (14 oz. can) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon aromatic bitters
1 egg white
few drops green food coloring (optional)
1 baked 9-inch pie shell, cooled

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add lime rind and juice. Pour slowly into beaten egg yolk, stirring constantly. Add condensed milk and bitters. Chill until slightly thickened.

Beat egg white until stiff peaks form. Fold into gelatin mixture. Add food coloring. Pour into pie shell. Chill until firm – about 3 hours. Garnish with lime slices or Cool Whip, if desired.

Some comments from my guests, who had mixed opinions…

“Awesome! It’s the best one! Yum! Perfect balance of ingredients.” – Sara

“Good crust. Okay filling” – Ivanna

“Creamy and dense” – Larisa

“Generically sweet, too one-dimensional” – Christopher

“Good, but then an odd taste – is it the bitters?” – Shelby

This was the favorite dish of the party for 1-year-old Blake. Check out his cute lil’ puckered face as he enjoys the Key Lime Pie.

This was my first time using bitters in a jello recipe, but it seems that bitters are a common ingredient of Caribbean recipes like Key Lime Pie.   I had previously only associated bitters with cocktails. Hmm, maybe I should mix some bitters into my next batch of jello shots.

Here’s Jimmy Buffett’s recipe for Key Lime Pie (sans bitters).