Key Lime Bars

I've been craving lime for the past little while. At Metrotown, I recently had a Key Lime Pie flavored Yogen-Fruz: natural lime flavored extract and graham cracker crumbs.It reminded me of the time in California where Rebecca, her mom, and I had Key Lime Pies (twice.. maybe three times) for dessert in the course of a week. Haha.

And when Daddy was scheduled for a visit, it seemed the perfect thing to make.
He apparently likes tart things.

The bars turned out wonderful - thanks to the fresh lime juice and zest, I think.
But it was too sweet for Daddy :(

Key Lime Bars
from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

Crust
5 oz (2 1/2 cups) graham crackers
3 tbsp light brown sugar
pinch of salt
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp grated fresh lime zest
pinch of salt
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from 3 limes)

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with a foil sling and grease the foil.

For the crust: Process the graham crackers, sugar and salt together in a food processor to fine crumbs, about 15 seconds. Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs and pulse to incorporate, about 10 pulses. Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake the crust until fragrant and deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

For the filling: Stir the cream cheese, zest and salt together in a medium bowl until combined. Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Whisk in the egg yolk and lime juice until combined. Pour the filling evenly over the crust. Bake the bars until set and the edges begin to pull away slightly from the sides of the pan, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

Let the bars cool completely in the pan, set on a wire rack, about 2 hours, then cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours. Remove the bars from the pan using foil, cut into squares.

Variation: Triple-Citrus Bars. Reduce the amount of lime zest to 1 1/2 tsp and combine with 1 1/2 tsp each grated fresh lemon zest and orange zest. Reduce the amount of lime juice to 6 tbsp and combine with 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice and 1 tbsp orange juice.