Mini Key Lime Pies

These mini key lime pies are the perfect single-serving dessert for summer! Sweet and tangy, made in a muffin tin with simple ingredients and a graham cracker crust, and easy to freeze.

As much as I love key lime pie and pie in general, sometimes it just doesn't make sense to make a big pie. That's why for the newest recipe in my Lynn's Desserts series, I took her classic key lime pie recipe and turned it into mini cupcake-sized pies.

These mini key lime pies are made in muffin papers and bake in just 15 minutes. They have a classic graham cracker crust and delicious custardy filling.

The best part? The mini key lime pies freeze really well, so you can make a batch and freeze it for whenever you want a quick dessert.

Ingredients

Other than the mini part, this recipe uses pretty classic key lime pie ingredients. I don't recommend making any ingredient swaps because this is the type of dessert that requires exact ingredients to turn out.

• Sweetened condensed milk: One can, or 14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk, is the backbone of the pie. It adds sweetness and body.
• Graham cracker crust: Graham crackers, melted butter, and granulated sugar. Any variety of graham crackers works here.
• Key lime juice: I use bottled Nellie Joe's Key Lime Juice, but even better if you have fresh key limes. This recipe does work with regular lime juice, but note that lime juice is more tart than key lime juice.
• Lemon juice: This balances out the strong and tart flavor of key limes.
• Egg whites: From 5 large eggs.

How to make the graham cracker crust

Add 7.5 graham crackers to a food processor with a standard blade attachment. Pulse until the crackers are a fine, sandy texture.

If you don't have a food processor, you can add the graham crackers to a large Ziploc bag and roll them with a rolling pin. This option is a bit more labor intensive but it gets the job done.

Combine the graham crackers with the melted butter and sugar. It will be a dry, crumbly mixture but when you pinch it between your fingers it should hold its shape.

Add 12 paper liners to a muffin tin. I don't recommend making this without paper liners!

Add 1 tablespoon of graham cracker crust to each liner, patting it into place.

Bake at 350F for 10 minutes, or until golden and firm (see picture above). Let cool for at least 15 minutes before adding the key lime filling.

How to make the key lime filling

Equipment: I use a food processor for both the filling and the graham cracker crust. If you don't have a food processor, a bowl with a hand mixer works.

Start by separating the egg whites from the yolks. We will not be using the yolks for this recipe. I use my hands to gently remove the white from the yolk by letting the egg white drain through my cupped fingers.

Add the egg whites to a food processor with a standard blade attachment. Process on high until the clear egg whites turn white. This will only take 1-2 minutes. Stop when the eggs are soft white and foamy in appearance.

If using a hand mixer, this part will take a little longer, probably 2-3 minutes.

Add the sweetened condensed milk to the egg whites. Continue processing or mixing until well combined, just about 30 seconds.

Mix in the lime juice and lemon juice until combined, just a few seconds.

Use a ¼ cup measure to fill each par-baked graham cracker crust ¾ full with key lime filling.

Reduce the oven heat to 325F. Make at 325F for 14-16 minutes, or until the custards are only slightly jiggly and have a dull sheen. I gently shake the muffin tray (with an oven mitt on!) to check if they are still jiggly at the 14-minute mark.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool.

Top tips

• You can use 100% key lime juice instead of a combination of key lime juice and lemon juice. The key lime pies will be slightly more tart.
• When ready, the key lime pie will have a dull sheen on top. This indicates they are set. Do not let them brown on the edges.
• Let the key lime pie cool before transferring to the fridge to chill or they may crack on top. The custard continues to cook after removing from the oven.
• Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh lime zest to garnish.
• If you don't want to waste egg yolks after separating them from the whites, you can freeze them for up to 3 months and use them in scrambled eggs or egg bakes.
• This recipe makes extra graham cracker crust because it was developed for a 9-inch key lime pie.
• *Note that I have not personally tested using this recipe for a full key lime pie, I only made mini pies. This is the bake temp and time Lynn uses for the original Key Lime Pie recipe* For a full-size key lime pie, pat the graham cracker crust into a 9-inch pie dish. Par-bake for 10-12 minutes at 350F, or until golden and firm. Reduce the heat to 275F. Add the entire batch of key lime filling to the pie crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the custard has a dull sheen and jiggles slightly when the pan is gently moved.