Key Lime Pie

a couple of weeks ago, my aunt and uncle were visiting from florida. we went to dinner followed by an o's game. we had a wonderful time - but on the way home something happened. the same thing has probably happened to you before. it's late, you're on your way home and it strikes. a craving strikes. not just any craving but a mad-crazy, gotta-have-it-now, nothing else will do craving.

that night, it was a key lime pie craving. once i said it out loud, everyone in the car agreed. we could all go for a cold slice of perfectly sweet, yet tart key lime pie on a bed of crunchy, buttery graham crackers topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream. dang, we downright needed one!

it was at that moment we all agreed there needed to be a key lime pie hotline. one you can call 24 hours a day, tell the operator your location and he/she will direct you to the nearest key lime pie dealer in the area. wait, that came out wrong. i guess dessert can be like drugs in some ways, when a craving hits, nothing else will do.

i should get myself into the 21st century and say instead of a hotline, there should be an app for that. and not just key lime pie, but an app that you can type in whatever food you are craving (pizza, chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, truffle fries . . .) and it will tell you where that gotta-have-it food craving can be found.

unfortunately, we all went to bed that night without key lime pie. (i mean seriously, there is NO place to realistically get key lime pie in batimore at 11:30pm. the only place is the frozen isle of the grocery store and that's not the kind of key lime pie i want to waste my calories on.) but my craving for my favorite pie remained.

i searched high and low for the "perfect" key lime pie recipe and with a few tweaks, i have finally landed on it. this is the perfect key lime pie. i like to think i am somewhat of an expert - it was our wedding "cake" after-all. and this is it. thankfully, it is very easy. so when a craving strikes, i can have one on the table (well within 5 hours - those darn chilling times will kill your gotta-have-it-now cravings).

i made two of these pies and took them to a dinner party and they were met with rave reviews. i heard several "this is seriously the best key lime pie i have ever had" comments. i have to agree. this is the only recipe i will be using from now on.

it's. that. good.

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Key Lime Pie 

6 oz prepared graham cracker crust (or feel free to make your own)
2 - 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup 2% plain greek yogurt
3/4 cup key lime juice
zest of 1 lime
1 tbs lime juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbs powdered sugar

preheat oven to 350 degree F.

whisk together sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, yogurt, key lime juice, lime zest, and lime juice until smooth and combined. pour into pie crust. bake for 8 minutes. remove from oven and let cool completely. refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

before serving, whip heavy cream and powdered sugar together until stiff. pipe onto pie and garnish with lime wedges if desired. enjoy!

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