A thick cookie crust and bright green key lime filling make these sweet and tart Key Lime Bars a must make recipe this summer.
Why You Will Love These Bars
It has taken me some time to come around to liking citrus desserts. The past few years I have made and eaten more lemon and lime desserts and have come to an appreciation of their flavors. Of course, if I'm given the choice of only one dessert, anything chocolate is going to beat out the citrus.
Key lime has a special place in my heart though because my hubby and I went on our honey moon to Key West many years ago. It was there that I had my first slice of key lime pie. Chocolate dipped, of course.
Key lime pie is one of my hubby's favorite desserts. He also loves these mini strawberry pies. Oh, my word! I totally need to mash those two desserts together. What do you think?
Last year I had a friend ask me to come up with a lemon bar recipe for her to make at her bakery here in town. After some fun testing in the kitchen, I came up with the best lemon bars, in my opinion. Even my chocolate loving self was digging those lemony bars.
I do think the thick cookie crust is what helped me fall in love with them. It's my preference to have a sweet crust that is the same or thicker than the filling. You could totally make a smaller crust if you want the filling to stand out more. Just do half the crust ingredients and bake it for 12-14 minutes.
Last month I was cleaning out the fridge and I found a bottle of key lime juice from when I made these blueberry key lime cheesecake bars last summer. Of course that bottle was too old, so it got pitched right away. But that got my brain going in about 10 different directions for fun key lime summer desserts.
How to make Key Lime Bars
The first thing I wanted to do was make those lemon bars with key lime juice. I added a little bit of green gel food coloring to make the filling bright. That's totally up to you. If you do not add the food coloring, your filling will be a much lighter color because key limes are yellow.
The color does intensify as the bars bake, so add your food coloring sparingly.
CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER!
The hardest part of these bars is the waiting period. I couldn't wait to cut into these key lime bars, but they need to be completely chilled before you slice into them. I like to use a hot dry knife to make my slices perfect. A dusting of powdered sugar and some lime zest makes them ready to be devoured.
They would be the perfect dessert to bring to picnics and parties this summer. The bright green color makes them so fun and cheery!
Still craving more key lime inspired desserts? You have to check out this Key Lime Pound Cake. I'm loving the key lime drizzles over the top! And this Tequila Key Lime Bundt Cake is absolutely gorgeous too! The swirls of fruit in this Raspberry Key Lime Pie are calling out to me. I know my husband would love that for sure!
Recipe
Key Lime Bars
A thick cookie crust and bright green key lime filling make these sweet and tart Key Lime Bars a must make recipe this summer.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¾ cup butter, softened
For the Filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup key lime juice
- 2 tablespoons lime zest + extra for garnish
- 2 large eggs
- green gel food coloring, optional
- powdered sugar, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick baking spray.
- Mix together the flour, powdered sugar, and butter until it is crumbly. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, place the sugar, flour, salt, key lime juice, zest, and eggs in a blender. Pulse until frothy. If you like, add a little bit of green gel food coloring to brighten the color even more.
- When the crust is finished, pull it out and pour the key lime filling on top. You may need to pulse it one more time before doing this. Bake again for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove and let cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into 16 bars.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 225Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 111mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 0gSugar: 23gProtein: 2g
Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.
Shelley
Not sure what went wrong! When I took them out of the oven, they looked very much like the lemon bars I've made for years. So I was very pleased. After they cooled, I lifted them out of the baking pan to cut. Trying to get the foil off of them was a night mare. It stuck to the edge all the way around the bars. I never used foil or parchment paper on my lemon bars but have had good luck doing this with other recipes so I thought I'd try it. After cutting and storing them, the consistency of the top of the bars changed and they became very gooey even after being in the fridge. I typically love your recipes and have great luck with them but this one not so much.
Jocelyn
Oh, no! I'm so sorry to hear these ones didn't set up for you. As for the bars sticking, you do need to spray the foil before adding your crust and filling to keep them from sticking. I do hate to even ask this, but is there any chance you missed an ingredient when mixing the filling?
Dave Walker
I don't usually love key lime deserts. I like them, and I like that they remind me of time spent on the gulf. But, these were pretty (I like the artificially bright green) and I was in a mood. Ironically, the one ingredient I forgot was the food coloring. But, these were AWESOME!! I loved that the key lime (unlike a lot of pies) was not overwhelming. Upfront and unmistakeable, but not eclipsing but rather complementing the cookie-like base (which was perfect). My wife, who DOES love key lime deserts, thought this was a superior one.
Real Floridian
I'm not sure what you used, but these aren't key limes. Key limes are yellow when ripe, not green. We've grown them almost all my life and green key limes are not ripe and overly dry and bitter.
Jocelyn
Thanks for stopping by! I'm not sure if you read the post or the recipe card, but it clearly says that I added green food coloring to make these bars bright. I actually live in FL, and know that key limes are yellow, as are key lime desserts. I just wanted to make the bars stand out and look different than my lemon bars, so the green was a fun option.
Stephanie
I am going to try these for a picnic. When you say line a baking pan with foil, do you also mean for the foil to overlap the sides of the pan too so you can pull the crust out?
Jocelyn
Yes, ma'am. That's exactly what I mean 🙂 I just like being able to lift everything out nice and neatly.
Yvonne
In your recipes you often just say flour in the UK we have plain and self raising is it possible you could put a P or SR after the flour amounts please as I love the recipes but often put the wrong flour .
Many thanks. Yvonne
Jocelyn
I always use all purpose flour in all of my recipes. If I ever use a different flour, I would specify it.
Joanne
These bars look like summer on a plate! I have fond memories of Key West, too. 🙂