these mini key lime pie bars are the perfect summertime treat, with the zing of lime and the sweetness of honey balancing each other out.
Key lime pie and lemon meringue pie (maybe you see what’s happening here) were always two of my favourite desserts growing up. If you missed the link: it’s the meringue. I freaking loved meringue as a child. I mean what child would not love the marshmallow-like, candy-like airiness of meringue? I remember being so extremely confused when I found out that meringue was made out egg whites. What??? I didn’t understand, it was so sweet and fluffy and so unlike eggs?! Ahh to be young and clueless.
Now, I still love meringue, and I don’t question it’s egg-ways, I just make it, a lot. It’s become my-go-to replacement for icing, since starting the SCD diet — admittedly I could try making icing with other ingredients like coconut cream more often, and admittedly I have tried certain recipes involving coconut cream– but I’ve also failed at said recipes involving coconut cream– and I’ve grown reluctant to explore further beyond the meringue perimeters I now enclose myself in. It’s a meringue entrapment of my own devising.
Key lime pie is obviously the cousin of lemon meringue pie, and I had one of the cousins lately and was thinking it would be delicious to also have the other. It’s really that simple. So I devised a lime curd recipe (which you do need to make for the recipe below) and then I adopted my lemon meringue pie recipe, and here we are!
I wanted to share the key lime curd recipe separately incase you have the desire to strictly make curd and use it for your own baking creations– you can use it in making your own muffins and cakes– or you could even use it as layer of filling for some sort of cake concoction. You can also eat curd by itself, or add it to something like yogurt. And of course, you can use it for the key lime pie bars you’ll find below, which is my recommendation!! But I definitely advise you to have a few spoonfuls of lime curd along the way, because it is just so delicious fresh out of the jar too.
For the bars, once you do have your lime curd made– maybe make it a day ahead if you can plan to do so, so that the day-of you have less steps to sort through– you simply need to bake your crust, pile on your filling with the addition of two ingredients (yogurt and gelatin), and then of course, top it off with mountains of pillow-y meringue. The meringue is ultimately optional, you could serve these bars without (!) and just have key lime bars, however the meringue is not only beautiful to look at it, it adds a layer of sweetness and texture to the bars too. So I recommend going all in, and doing the meringue as well.
Let me know if you try making these bars by tagging me on Instagram @grainfreee, I’d love to see your creation! I hope you love these bars as much as we did.
key lime pie bars: ingredients
crust
- 1 +1/4 cup of almond flour
- 1/2 cup of unsweetened, shredded coconut
- 3 tbsp of butter
- 2 tbsp of honey
- 1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract
key lime filling
- 1 batch of my key lime curd recipe (here)
- 1 cup of 24-hour, dripped SCD yogurt
- 2 tbsp of gelatin (I prefer Great Lakes gelatin)
meringue
- 3 egg whites
- 1/3 cup of honey
- 1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract
key lime pie bars: how to
crust
- combine all ingredients well.
- line a small square or rectangular baking dish (mine was 9″x 3″ approx) with parchment paper, and pat down your crust to the bottom, reaching the edges of the dish.
- bake the crust at 350 for 12 minutes, remove from oven and set aside as you prepare your key lime filling in the next steps.
key lime filling
- using a food processor, or a handheld mixer, mix all your filling ingredients together until well combined. it should be creamy and well mixed.
- pour the filling across the crust and put it back in the oven, baking at 350 for 45 minutes.
- remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool in the fridge or freezer for two hours or so.
meringue
- whisk your egg whites using a hand mixer or stand mixer, forming stiff peaks.
- drizzle in the honey and vanilla extract, as you mix the egg whites, and continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
- once the stiff peaks have formed, stop blending and remove from the stand mixer and set aside.
- the meringue can be piled on as high you’d like on top of the cooled down bars. Use a spatula and spread it evenly across them.
- for a golden brown meringue, place the bars under the broiler on low for 2-4 minutes max. be very careful if you’re using the broiler so as not to burn the meringue, which can happen in an instant!! (to the best of us!!)
- allow to cool again, storing in fridge for a few hours before you carefully remove the the key lime pie bars from the dish. Take it out using the edges of the parchment paper, just make sure it’s loosened up around the edges with a knife. Place it on a cutting board, and you can slice it up into little bars, as you see fit.
- these bars are best served fresh/immediately! they will keep in the fridge for a few days, however I do not recommend freezing because of the meringue. these are most enjoyable when served fresh.
grain free key lime pie bars
Ingredients
crust
- 1 + 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
key lime filling
- 1 batch of my key lime curd recipe (here)
- 1 cup 24-hour, dripped SCD yogurt this should be thick, cream cheese-like yogurt, or you can use plain, thick greek yogurt if you're not on the scd diet
- 2 tbsp gelatin I prefer Great Lakes gelatin
meringue
- 3 egg whites
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
crust
- combine all ingredients well.
- line a small square or rectangular baking dish (mine was 9"x 3" approx) with parchment paper, and pat down your crust to the bottom, reaching the edges of the dish.
- bake the crust at 350 for 12 minutes, remove from oven and set aside as you prepare your key lime filling in the next steps
key lime filling
- using a food processor, or a handheld mixer, mix all your filling ingredients together until well combined. it should be creamy and well mixed.
- pour the filling across the crust and put it back in the oven, baking at 350 for 45 minutes.
- remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool in the fridge or freezer for two hours or so.
meringue
- whisk your egg whites using a hand mixer or stand mixer, forming stiff peaks.
- drizzle in the honey and vanilla extract, as you mix the egg whites, and continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
- once the stiff peaks have formed, stop blending and remove from the stand mixer and set aside.
- the meringue can be piled on as high you’d like on top of the cooled down bars. Use a spatula and spread it evenly across them.
- for a golden brown meringue, place the bars under the broiler on low for 2-4 minutes max. be very careful if you’re using the broiler so as not to burn the meringue, which can happen in an instant!! (to the best of us!!)
- allow to cool again, storing in fridge for a few hours before you carefully remove the the key lime pie bars from the dish. Take it out using the edges of the parchment paper, just make sure it's loosened up around the edges with a knife. Place it on a cutting board, and you can slice it up into little bars, as you see fit.
- these bars are best served fresh/immediately! they will keep in the fridge for a few days, however I do not recommend freezing because of the meringue. these are most enjoyable when served fresh.