I made my very first Key Lime Pie the other day!! (recipe below) Well, I didn't actually use key limes, but anyway...

After I made that key lime pie, James liked it so much he requested it for his birthday dessert. :) James isn't super into cake, but he was excited to have pie instead.

James is a twin and yesterday for dinner we celebrated him and his twin sister at a hibachi restaurant. I brought 2 key lime pies so we would have plenty for everyone.

My sweet husband and his beautiful twin sister:

Me with my love on his birthday. :)

In addition to dinner with his family I took him out on Friday night to his favorite restaurant and to see Civil War at the movies. We had a really fun time!

I used a mixture of recipes for the pie. For the crust and whipped cream, I followed what Barefoot Contessa says to do! For the filling, I used Pioneer Woman's recipe.

Crust:

10 graham crackers (per pie)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Filling:

1 tablespoon lime zest
1/2 cup lime juice (I used a little less and liked it less tart :))
2 egg yolks
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Whipped Cream:

1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the crust, preheat the oven to 350. After preheating, I put the graham crackers in my food processor and pulsed until they were finely ground. Then I mixed the melted butter and sugar with the crumbs in a big bowl and poured it all in my pie pan and pressed the crumbs in. Bake the crust for 7-8 minutes and then pull it out. Leave the oven set to 350 degrees.

For the filling, I put the lime zest, lime juice and egg yolks in my Kitchenaid mixer and mixed together on low. Then poured in the condensed milk and mixed on high for about 2 or 3 minutes. Once mixed I poured it into my pie pan and baked for 15 minutes. After that I put it in the fridge for an hour.

To make the whipped cream, I started by putting my mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for 10 minutes. Then I put the whipping cream in the mixer and beat for a few minutes until it thickened up and formed peaks. Next I added the sugar and vanilla and mixed together.

To decorate the pie, I just spooned the whipped cream on top and garnished with some lime slices. :)

Key Lime Pie!