Baby Key Lime Pies

I've realized recently that I only enjoy making small desserts. Cakes, pies - really anything that requires dirtying a knife - doesn't do it for me. I like my desserts to get eaten and people are intimidated by things they have to cut.

On that note, Jay's favorite dessert is key lime pie. We are 3.5 years into our relationship and I bake every Sunday night; however, I never made him a key lime pie. Why, do you ask? (1) I hate baking large things like pies. (2) I don't have a pie pan even if I wanted to bake a pie (nor do I care to purchase one). (3) I'm allergic to pie crust. (4) I can't find key limes at any grocery store near me.

All that being said, we did a bit of research last night for how to get that lovely key lime feel in something cuter, smaller and easier! Ta Da!

All of the ingredients can be found at pretty much any grocery store. It may get a bit tricky if you're gluten-free like me but you should be able to find something that works. As far as equipment goes, a muffin tin will do just fine.

BABY KEY LIME PIES

Serving: 9-12 mini pies

Prep Time: 10 min

Total Time: 40 min

Oven Temp: 350 degrees

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of gluten free graham or animal cracker crumbs - I used KinniKritters GF animal crackers (which are amazing, by the way) and grind them in the food processor. You could also use GF gingersnap cookies or regular graham crakers. My local supermarket had a surprisingly wide selection.

• 3 tbsp white sugar

• 6 tbsp butter, melted

• 3 egg yolks, beaten

• 2 14oz cans of sweetend condensed milk (surprisingly the key ingredient)

• Approx. 3/4 cup of (key) lime juice - I used about 5 regular limes from the store

• Zest of 2 times

• 1/3 cup non-fat Greek yogurt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. A spoon works fine. After it is all mixed together, put a scoop of the crust inside each muffin tin and press it into the bottom. It doesn't need to coat the entire outside of the tin like a normal pie crust... just the bottom layer. You can adjust the amount based on how much crust vs. key lime you want. I happen to be a crust lover. After it's all pressed in, bake this in the oven for 8-9 minutes. Remove and let cool.

In the meantime, make the pie filling. Combine all of the other ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. This should be a one dirty bowl dessert if you use the same bowl that you made the crust in and beat the eggs in it first, before adding everything else.

Once the tins are cool, pour the filling inside the tins, almost to the top but not quite, and bake for 15 minutes in the oven. Take them out and refridgerate for 30 min or up to a week. I like to garnish with a lime slice or whipped cream.

HAPPY BOYFRIEND, HAPPY LIFE =)