These key lime bars have a tangy, sweet key lime filling, buttery shortbread crust and they’re topped with a dusting of powdered sugar.
This recipe takes minimal ingredients and it comes together in 15 minutes.
It makes an impressive dessert that everyone will love.
Key lime juice may be substituted with any citrus that you have on hand.
Recipe Ingredients
This recipe only requires 6 simple ingredients as outlined below.
Unsalted Butter. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the sodium. Allow the butter to soften at room temperature before preparing the crust.
All purpose flour. The flour is used in the crust, and a small amount is used to thicken the filling as well.
Powdered sugar. Powdered sugar provides the key lime bars with their trademark powdery white topping, and it’s also used to sweeten the crust. Powdered sugar contains cornstarch, which gives the crust a soft, melt in your mouth texture.
Granulated sugar. This is used to sweeten the key lime filling.
Fresh key limes. You’ll need both zest and the juice for these key lime bars. The key lime juice is the star of these bars, and fresh juice makes all the difference. It’s got a bright, fresh flavor that bottled key lime juice just can’t provide. If you can’t find fresh key limes, consider using lemons, regular limes or oranges.
Eggs. The eggs give the filling structure and a custard-like richness.
ZEST AND JUICE THE KEY LIMES
Zest a few key limes for about a tablespoon of key lime zest, then juice the limes. One bag of key limes will yield a minimum of 1/2 cup of juice. Strain the juice, then stir the zest into the juice. This may be done up to a few days in advance and it may also be frozen.
Save one key lime for garnish if desired.
PREPARE THE CRUST
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