Key Lime Pie Bars and So Much More!

Did you realize last Sunday was National Books Lovers Day? It sure was! We all love our books, don’t we? Last week I shared my love of books with you as I wrote my whole blog post about the four books I loved as a child and have ever since. The days are slowly growing shorter as we inch towards fall, but there is still plenty of summer light to read by each day. I hope you are reading some great books in these dog days of summer. I know where you can find some really good ones…

The library is now open to the public! If you’d like, you can come in and browse the stacks a bit and choose your own books. We’re calling it, “Grab and go.” We ask that you chose your books and check out in a timely fashion. We are limited in the number of patrons we can allow in as we strive to keep everyone safe. And of course, curbside pick-up is still available. Call a librarian to place a hold or go online and place your own holds, we’ll schedule a pick-up time and then bring the books/DVDs/audiobooks, etc. right out to your car.

And now, I have another yummy, light summer dessert to share with you: Key Lime Pie Bars. If you don’t have Key limes, regular limes will do. We made this recipe last week and really enjoyed it. It's both sweet and tangy and a great finish to your meal on a hot, summer day. I found this recipe, a few years back, on the Little Spice Jar website.

KEY LIME PIE BARS

Serves: 16

What You Need

12 large graham cracker rectangles

2 tablespoons ground pecans

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

3 egg yolks, room temperature

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

4 teaspoons lime zest (about 3 limes)

1/2 cup key lime juice (regular limes are fine, too)

What You Do

1.) Position a rack in the center of the over and preheat the oven to 350°. Spray an 8x8 square baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper; set aside.

2.) In a small bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, ground pecans, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Make sure all the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the baking pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; leave the oven on.

3.) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the yolks for 2 minutes. Add the condensed milk and continue to whisk for another 2 minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides, add the lime zest. With mixer on low, drizzle in the lime juice, let mixer run for 2 minutes once added. Pie mixture will be slightly thick when done. Pour the filling into crust and bake for 15 minutes.

4.) Cool completely on rack. Filling will set as it cools. Refrigerate for at least 2 years. Slice and serve chilled.

Note: I do not have a whisk attachment, so I just beat the mixture using the regular beaters for as long as the recipe says to whisk it.

As long as we’re talking recipes today, I’m going to tell you a little about my homemade cookbook system. For years, I’ve been ripping recipes out of magazines and, back in the day when we subscribed to one, even the newspaper! I love new recipes. I get bored by making the same dish time and again, so I’m always on the outlook for something new to whip up.

And because I’ve always liked to be organized, I had to find a way to keep all those recipes in order. I bought a couple of 3-ring binders and a package of page protectors, grabbed some computer paper and tape and got busy. I’d cut the recipes down to size, trying to squeeze as many as a I could on a page. And then tape them down. Slip them into a page protector and then into the big binders. One was for desserts, the other for every other category.

I started with just two binders, then went to four binders, and I am about to add a fifth binder. I’ve gotten so many delicious recipes from the Taste of Home Magazine recently that I’m going to create a binder just for recipes I’m photocopying from that magazine or printing directly from their website. I love tried and true recipes with easy instructions, and these fit the bill.

My homemade cookbook system is close to thirty years old and going strong. I edit it from time-to-time, taking out recipes I’ve never used or haven’t used for years. And I take out those recipes that bombed, which happens from time to time. Out with the old, as I make room for new recipes. I’m always on the look-out for a new recipe. 😊

I will leave you today with the sandhill cranes that visit our yard on an almost daily basis. Sometimes there’s just one, but they usually show up as a pair. If my observations are correct, I feel like the beaks on these birds are not as long as those of the adult birds we’ve seen in the past. So, I wonder if they are young birds, possibly the babies we saw in the spring. I like to imagine they are, that they’re siblings, and we’re watching them grow each day. So, although they sometimes tear up my side garden with their ferocious beak pecking, I’ll give them a pass. We’ve become quite attached to them.

The baby cranes in the spring.

Take care. Stay safe. Wear your mask.

Enjoy the day.