For September, I made Key lime pie, and I used the buttery flour crust recipe I used for my May, June, July, and August pies.

Originally, Key lime pies were not baked. Key limes are smaller and more aromatic than Persian limes, the traditional limes you see in the supermarket. Key lime juice is yellow, and the filling of a Key lime Pie is also yellow not green because of the egg yolks used in the recipe. Originally, the ingredients, Key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk were combined, but not cooked – the proteins of the egg yolks, the condensed milk, and the acidic lime juice curdled and thickened the mixture without cooking. Today, the pie filling is cooked to pasteurize the egg yolks to reduce the risk of food-borne illness.

The traditional crust for Key Lime Pie is a graham cracker crust, which also was not pre-baked, although most graham cracker crust recipes now recommend pre-baking the crust to make it hold together better. Growing up in Florida, some of the best Key lime Pies I devoured were made with traditional flour crusts or no crust.

Here is a recipe for a graham cracker crust in case you want to be more authentic, https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/12254/graham-cracker-crust-i/.

Because we moved around so much (15 corporate moves in less than 30 years), I learned to streamline my kitchen tools. You don’t have to pack and unpack what you don’t have. After making so many pie- crusts this year, I bought a dough blender and it’s a real game-changer! The cold butter and shortening stay cold and blend easier with the flour instead of being warmed up by my hands. Less time blending keeps the dough from getting tough. I still use my hands to make sure the dough is completely blended, but my hands don’t get as messy, so that’s also a win. After being refrigerated, the dough rolls out easily. The crust is flaky and delicious, and this is now my go-to recipe for flour crust.

Homemade Buttery Flaky Pie Crust – here is the link to Sally's Baking Addiction:

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/baking-basics-homemade-buttery-flaky-pie-crust/

Here is the link to the recipe for the Key lime Pie I made for September, https://www.browneyedbaker.com/key-lime-pie-recipe/

Here is a recipe for making Stabilized whipped cream for your pie top if desired,

https://www.livewellbakeoften.com/how-to-make-stabilized-whipped-cream/

Key lime pie filling has only three ingredients – Key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk, so it’s simple and inexpensive to make. This recipe also called for 4 teaspoons of lime zest. I used 2 teaspoons because I didn’t want to mess with the creamy texture of the pie. For my family, it was the right call. After the pie cooled, I made the stabilized whipped cream. I forgot to put unflavored gelatin on my shopping list, so I substituted a teaspoon of lemon curd which contains pectin. Pectin can be used as a vegan substitute for gelatin in many recipes. I omitted the powdered sugar from the whipped cream (I usually don’t add sugar to whipped cream), so the lemon curd gave it a little sweetness plus a hint of citrus. Forgetting the gelatin turned out to be a deliciously happy accident. I decorated the pie with whipped cream piped through a cookie decorating tool I purchased from Pampered Chef. Then I added thinly sliced pieces of lime on top of the whipped cream.

The pie was creamy, slightly sweet, and tart – everything you want a Key lime pie to be. The floured crust was delicious. I like it with this pie because it’s not sweet like a graham cracker crust and allows the tart flavor of the limes to take center stage.

Next month I’ll be making Apple Pie.

Since I haven’t received any photos or recipes from readers, I’m canceling the drawing for the gift from Pampered Chef. It’s a shame because Pampered Chef has awesome kitchen tools and bakeware for all your baking needs.