Our Favorite Key Lime Pie

To construct our best Key lime pie recipe, we tested several of the top-rated recipes in our archives and combined elements we loved about each into one winning dessert. We started with fresh Key limes (named for the Florida Keys), which have a floral lime flavor and inherent bitterness that balances perfectly with the sweetened condensed milk in the pie filling. Key limes can be tricky to find in some local grocery stores, but there are many great places to buy citrus online, such as Weee!. You could sub in regular lime (e.g., Persian lime) juice if need be, which is more tart—but be sure to use fresh juice. Shelf-stable bottled Key lime juice can be astringent, and for such a simple filling, using good ingredients is essential. We also found that cutting the filling with a small amount of fresh lemon juice tempers the intensity of the lime and results in a perfectly tangy-sweet custard.

We tweaked the typical homemade graham cracker crust by adding a dash of cinnamon for warmth. Blind-baking the pie crust before adding the key lime filling ensures it stays crunchy. Finally, we opted for whipped cream over a meringue topping because we like how the rich creaminess of the former balances the tart pie.

Looking to prep a summer party dessert ahead of time? Once cooled to room temperature, the pie can stay in the fridge loosely covered for up to two days.

Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in June 2015. Read More: The Best Ways to Use Leftover Egg Whites.