janette’s key lime bars

prep: 30 MINUTES | bake: ABOUT 1 HOUR | total: 1½ HOURS PLUS 3 HOURS COOLING AND CHILLING | serves 12

Josh loves key lime—he would take a key lime dessert over chocolate any day, and the more tart, the better. So our good friend Janette makes these bars for Josh’s birthday every year, and they’re always the highlight of the celebration. They have a cool, creamy filling atop a sweet graham cracker crust, and are finished off with a dollop of whipped cream and a slice of lime—though you could serve yours with strawberries, raspberries, or even toasted coconut. The bars do need to be made in advance because they need some time to cool and then chill in the fridge, but then all you need to do is add whipped cream and garnishes for them to be party-ready.

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs (about 9 full sheets; see Notes)

¼ cup sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

KEY LIME FILLING

2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

½ cup key lime juice (fresh or bottled, see Notes)

½ cup plain Greek yogurt

1 large egg yolk

WHIPPED CREAM

⅔ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Limes, thinly sliced, for garnish, if desired

1 Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with aluminum foil in both directions, making a plus sign. Press the foil into the pan and fold the edges over the sides.

2 In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and salt and stir until the crumbs are moist. Spread the mixture firmly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Use a measuring cup or other flat tool to press the crust down until it is smooth and even. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, until golden brown. Allow the crust to cool completely.

3 Make the filling: Reduce the oven to 325°F.

4 In a large bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime zest and juice, yogurt, and egg yolk and stir well. Pour the filling over the cooled crust.

5 Place the pan with the bars inside a larger baking dish and add enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the smaller pan. Bake for 45 minutes, until the bars are set.

6 Carefully remove the pan from the water bath and let the bars cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill the bars in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.

7 When ready to serve, whip the cream: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form, about 1 minute.

8 Use the foil to help lift the bars from the pan. Carefully transfer the bars to a cutting board and slice into squares. Top each with a dollop of whipped cream and garnish with a lime slice, if desired. You can store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

NOTES: If you don’t have a food processor to make graham cracker crumbs, just add graham crackers to a large zip-top bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Instead of taking the time to juice fresh key limes, I recommend buying the juice bottled. It’s good enough for Janette, so it’s good enough for me! Or you can use the juice of 6 to 8 regular limes.