Key Lime Bars

Lime is one of my new loves -- citrusy, summery, and a tad sweeter than lemon. 

A leftover lime from a homemade sugar scrub inspired me to try a lime bar recipe from my recipe binder. It was a Land o' Lakes recipe snipped from a flyer or magazine ages ago. But after trying the recipe, it's been transcribed and printed in a more readable, permanent format. Because these are keepers:

Fresh, sweet, and deliciously chilled. A perfect summer dessert!

These babies are NOT gluten free, Paleo friendly, low in sugar, or remotely healthy. Which is probably why they taste so good. *wink* Actually, I don't think it would be too difficult to make them gluten free, and if you substituted something healthy for the refined sugar, you could probably come up with something that won't double your blood sugar levels in one bite. But I'll leave that to your discretion, because I like these sugary little confections just the way they are.

Key Lime Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 ¼ C all-purpose flour 
• ½ C Butter, softened 
• ¼ C sugar 
• ¼ C chopped pecans 

Filling: 

• ¾ C sugar 
• 2 eggs 
• 2 TBSP all-purpose flour 
• 3 TBSP key lime juice (I used regular lime)
• ¼ tsp baking powder

Frosting:

• 1 ½ C powdered sugar 
• 1 TBSP butter, softened 
• 1 to 2 TBSP key lime juice 
• Freshly grated key lime peel 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚ 
2. Combine all crust ingredients except pecans in small bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (I used my food processor). Stir in pecans. Press onto bottom of ungreased 8 or 9-inch square baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. 
3. Meanwhile, combine all filling ingredients in small bowl. Beat at low speed until well mixed. Pour filling over hot, partially baked crust. Continue baking for 18 to 20 minutes or until filling is set. Cool completely. 
4. Combine all frosting ingredients except lime peel in small bowl. Spread over cooled bars. Garnish with grated lime peel. Store refrigerated.