Ok, first off, so sorry!!  My sincerest apologies! Next time I decide to show-off my fancy-dancy professional-looking decorating skills, I think I better take a class first, get in a little practice, or just have someone knock some sense into me with a cast-iron skillet first! Haha! Not even one of my better photos, either.

After I saw what I had done, I think I kind of just threw in the ol’ kitchen towel and gave up! I had always wanted to try the swirled colors in frostings, so I got brave and gave it my best shot. It worked. Oh, it worked alright. TOO well.

And I had to work fast on top of it, because I was working with Cool Whip, and I was afraid, after it was too late to turn back, that it would start weeping, then I’d start weeping, and there’s no weeping in pie making! 

I did have a lot of fun though, and the pie is phenomenal, as it faithfully always is, no matter how hard I try to annihilate it. The cherry on top made me laugh, though. Cherries (and Windex) fix everything.   😉

 But, all in all, this pie truly is phenomenal! Though we had to eat it with sunglasses on, it tasted just as good as ever!  

My hubby is originally from Florida and travels to Florida frequently for business shows, meetings and conferences, and said that it is just as good, if not better, than any of the Key Lime Pies he has had down there! Mine just seems to be creamier, richer and of course, thicker as I use twice the ingredients as most for a decent-looking, (most of the time anyways), sweet custard pie.  

Since I use 6 egg yolks in mine, you will have PLENTY of egg whites leftover to make a fabulous, mile-high meringue top if preferred. My hubby, wait, let me introduce you to him properly, ahem…, “Mr. Picky Pants”, doesn’t care for meringue and prefers whipped cream.

Though it’s fine with me, (I’m just happy to have pie!), I’m sure I’m way out of practice making meringue. Maybe I can talk him into just one meringue-topped pie in the future…anything to keep me from experimenting with food coloring again!

We both definitely agree though, on not adding Key Lime, or even regular, lime zest to the filling. I think that’s what people love so much about mine without even realizing it, is that, if you put zest in it, it makes the consistency “gritty” and it only takes away from the creaminess.

*Fresh Key Limes are extremely bitter, too, so you might want to consider that before you are tempted to add it if you’re using fresh-squeezed instead of bottled juice or just wanting to add a little.

I tried making one with fresh Key Limes once. ONCE. Never. Again. Ever. Those little buggers are hard as a rock, even after rolling each and every 10,000 one of them, nuking them, and squeezing them until my hands cramped and my arms about fell off. It took me HOURS. And you could not even tell the difference from bottled after it was all done. I will never do that again. I have always used, and will continue to use, Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice. It makes the best Key Lime Pies!

Lastly, the crust part is completely up to you. I have made them with pie pastry, graham cracker crusts, shortbread crusts, cookie crusts and macadamia nut crusts, and they’ve all been good. For the ultimate creamy experience though, it’s best made the way I did today. With just plain ol’ pie pastry! Nothing to take away from, or compete with, the pie. 

The heavenly, savor-on-your-tongue, smooth as silk, fight-for-the-last-piece, uniquely delicious, Key Lime Pie…. There’s just nothing else on Earth quite like it!

Yield: 8 servings

Smooth as Silk Key Lime Pie

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Ingredients

• 6 egg yolks
• 2 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk, (*not evaporated)
• 1 cup Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice
• enough pie pastry for 1 – 9″ deep dish pie crust
• whipped cream, Cool Whip*, Redi-Whip or homemade meringue for topping
• (*I used every bit of an 8 oz. container of Cool Whip for this one.)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks until smooth and combined. Slowly whisk in sweetened condensed milk streaming into bowl. Add key lime juice, a little at a time, whisking in. Set aside.

Line pie plate with pastry. Trim top and flute edge or press with tines of a fork.

Pour filling into pie shell, scraping bowl with a rubber spatula, and bake in 325 degree oven for 40-45 minutes until just set, and edges are a little cracked but not dry or browned. Pie jiggles slightly when lightly shaken, but not runny or loose in the middle. It will be slightly poofed, but will settle while cooling. Cool completely before topping no matter what you’re topping it with. (*If using Redi-Whip, only top serving slices when serving. Don’t pre-top because it melts.)

*To Make Top: Paint 2 stripes of food coloring (I used gel and a tiny paintbrush) up insides of pastry bag. Place Cool Whip into bag carefully, spoonfuls at a time, and squeeze out until you see the color you have added.