Key Lime Pie

Thanksgiving is upon us so let’s talk about pies. Last year I had decided to make several mini pies. Some were great, some were awful, some were just extremely temperamental and needed to be talked to, sweetly, just to get them to hold themselves together. The best was a pumpkin pie from Food Network’s Thanksgiving issue. Man, that issue made so many promises. Those pages cradled me. They made me being a world-class chef seem so simple, so close, so real. Well, three pie-dough attempts, a shredded spatula, and some diffused fires later, I realized that when recipes promise to be “simple” they often mean that there’s a possibility that Chef Ramsey can handle them.

Because I have personally felt the pains of true betrayal, I do not use the word “simple” lightly. But for this recipe, simple is an understatement. Lucky for you, due to popular demand, I am going to share my no-bake (and egg-free) Key Lime Pie recipe. If you can’t throw it together in less than 15 minutes (and that’s a very generous 15 minutes) then you need a lot more help in the kitchen than I can offer.

Here it is:

Ingredients

1 (9-inch) graham cracker crust

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup key lime juice (I like to use Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice if I can’t find fresh key limes)

1 tsp. vanilla

All the whipped cream your heart desires

Directions

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer. Add condensed milk and vanilla; beat until well blended. Add lime juice and beat thoroughly. Pour into graham cracker crust and chill several hours, or overnight. When ready, pile on the whipped cream and go to town!