Key Lime Bars

Name: Key Lime Bars
Yield: Makes sixteen 2-inch bars
Ingredients: 5 ounces, animal crackers; 3 tablespoons, packed brown sugar (light or dark); pinch, table salt; 4 tablespoons, unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly; 2 ounces, cream cheese, room temperature; 1 tablespoon, grated lime zest, minced; pinch, table salt; 1 , (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk; 1 , egg yolk; 1/2 cup, fresh lime juice, either Key lime or regular; 3/4 cup, sweetened shredded coconut, toasted until golden and crisp

83 comments

By Dawn Yanagihara

Appears in Cook's Illustrated July/August 2006, America's Test Kitchen TV

Desserts or Baked Goods

Fruit

Brownies & Bars

Fruit Desserts

Our first cracks at transforming Key lime pie into a cookie left us with a thick, dry crust--and too much lime on our hands. We wanted to raise the bar.

SERVESMakes sixteen 2-inch bars

TIME1¼ hours, plus 1 to 1½ hours cooling and 2 hours chilling

has video

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

To bring the essence of Key lime pie to our lime bar recipe, we wondered if Key limes were really key. We found that regular lime juice was acceptable (fresh is essential, however), especially considering that we needed to squeeze far fewer...

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