Key Lime Pie Shooters. This sweet, thick, rich and creamy dessert will also have you puckering.
[social_share/]Yum
Before I break into the saga that brings me to the Key Lime Pie Shooter recipe, Happy Fathers Day weekend! This goes out to all the great dads, step dads, soon to be dads and “acting” dads out there. A special nod to my husband who is an awesome father! Our daughter thinks the world of him, they’re my two trouble makers, lol. And a nod to my own dad!
Back in the mid 80’s, hard to believe that’s about 30 years ago, my aunt made an awesome key lime pie. It didn’t look like your average key lime pie, it stood a bit higher, was fluffy and lighter in color. The flavor was awesome! I remember as a kid wanting a second, third and fourth slice. Luckily my mom got the recipe and has been making it ever since. The recipe was written out on a old school recipe card, the kind no one really uses anymore and it even had a line for “From the kitchen of…”. My closest thing to a recipe card is a pile of printed off recipes from the internet. On cleaning day I make the pile neat and tidy and they usually get put in a cupboard until further notice.
Years later I asked my mom where the recipe came from, thinking it was from a restaurant in the Florida Keys, she told me my aunt got it from a flyer at Publix grocery store. Thats right it was a recipe to promote the sale of everyday items. Here I thought it as going to be a fancy cook book or some fun story. At this point I still didn’t know what the pie was made of, the center was thick, creamy and rich but you always puckered just the right amount from the ever present fresh key lime juice and it was all topped off with whipped cream and held by a graham cracker crust. At this point I had to know and I asked, what are the ingredients? I about hit the floor when she told me. I had a mix of emotions, part of me was sooo excited about how easy and accessible the pie really is. But there was a little part of me that was hoping for something more complex to explain how great this pie is. With out further waiting, see below, I’m showing you the actual recipe card. Can you believe it? Its so simple. Since learning this I have seen similar recipes but still not this one exactly unless I missed it.
I had a crazy craving for this key lime pie but wanted to add a twist. I introduce to you…Key Lime Pie Shooters. I bought the pre made crust, all the ingredients you see listed with the addition of macadamia nuts and limes for zest. I could not find fresh little key limes at any of my grocery stores this time so I used Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Juice, its excellent! Now you’ll see the recipe card states 6 oz non dairy topping, I used 8 oz for a little extra fluff. I followed the instructions, mixing the sweetened condensed milk with the nondairy topping, I used Cool Whip. Added in the two juices and mixed until completely blended, I didn’t even get out the stand mixer for this, how nice it that! This is where you would pour the filling into the pre made crust. I instead broke the crust up and crumbled it. I put about a 1/2 inch at the bottom of each 2″ high cups, I piped the filling to about a 1/4 inch from the top and chilled for three hours. I then added piped whipped cream, macadamia nut crumbles and lime zest to top them off. In total I got 40 cups. The dessert cups came from Gordon Food Service and are 2 inches high and about 1.5 inches in diameter. Any food supply or catering supply should have this or something similar, don’t forget the mini spoons to go with them.
Everything you love in a key lime pie made from easy to find everyday ingredients and packaged into sweet little cups for easy eating. I dare you to eat just one…
Enjoy!
Stacey
Key Lime Pie Shooters
Ingredients
- 1- 9 inch graham cracker crust
- 1- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 8 oz non dairy whipped topping such as Cool Whip
- 1/4 cup key lime juice if fresh is not available I used Nellie and Joes Key Lime Juice
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup crushed macadamia nuts for garnish optional
- lime zest from 4 limes for garnish optional
- Additional non dairy whipped topping for garish
Instructions
- This will take about 30 minutes to complete plus 3 hour chill time represented under "cook time".
- Arrange dessert cups on a tray(s).
- Crumble crust and set aside.
- Mix sweetened condensed milk, non dairy whipped topping together.
- Add in key lime and lemon juice, mix until fully blended.
- Add the crumbled pie crust into each dessert cup, about a 1/2 inch high.
- Put filling into piping bag and pipe filling into dessert cups to about a 1/4 inch from top.
- Chill for 3 hours.
- Pipe additional whipped topping on top of filling, sprinkle with macadamia nuts and lime zest.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Reading by way of your nice content, will support me to complete so at
times.
Hi! Thank you. I am glad you liked this post.
Sincerely,
Stacey
I made two original key lime pies yesterday and both were soupy. Never set. Ihave made this pie for years with no problem, until last year, soupy. So I stopped making it for awhile , made a couple several months ago. Perfect! ! I make them all exactly the same! The only difference is the key lime is older, I always keep it in the reefer. What is going Wrong?
What can I do with soupy key lime pie made by the original recipe on the bottle
Hi Doris, so sorry to hear about your random mishaps on these pies. Its always disheartening when a recipe doesn’t turn out consistently. I can’t speak to the recipe on the bottle that you used as I don’t know it. Some thoughts came to mind though. You mentioned the key lime juice being older, maybe try buying a new bottle each time you make the pies, it may be worth the extra $$ if it works. Though I have not heard of this being a factor it could be that the juice has something to do with it as you suspected. Also, not sure if this is a baked or no bake recipe you are using but if it is a baked pie all the ingredients should be room temperature when you start, if they are cold it can affect baking times, consistency, etc. I wish you all the best! Take care.
How many ounces is each serving? I says 40 cups but how many ounces is in one of your dessert cups?
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Lindsay! So glad you are thinking of making these, they are so good! I used 2 oz dessert cups (may also be by the shot glasses). They were purchased at Gordon Food Service. Any other questions please let me know. Enjoy! Thanks!
I had a lot of the filling left over. Can it be frozen to be used at a later date, or should it just be refrigerated?
Hi Carol! So glad you try these. This can definitely be refrigerated, I would say for 3-5 days. I can’t speak to freezing the filling as I have not personally done it myself. It may be worth a try if you don’t think you are going to use it with in 3-5 days. If you do freeze it let me know how thawing goes when the time comes. Take care.
I really like this recipe. Any reason why the whipped cream needs to be non-dairy? Thanks!
Hi Eilyn, thank you! If you are asking about the whipped cream garnish on top you can certainly use real whipped cream. If you are asking about replacing the non-dairy topping in the key lime filling part of the recipe, no you cannot, the amount of citrus juice in this recipe could curdle the heavy cream (citrus juice and heavy cream are not the best of friends). Hope this helps, enjoy! Take care.
Made these for a summer cabin crawl (progressive party) at our vacation home. Huge hit and SO EASY! We made 3 batches to make 100 servings. Purchased 2oz cups and mini plastic spoons at Party City (both in packs of 100). For 3 batches I used 2 – 16oz containers of Cool Whip (was better with a little more and it extended the recipe quantity). Had just enough leftover filling to have a few samples. Would insert picture of final result but can’t figure out how.
Hi Carol! I’m so happy these were a crowd pleaser for you! This is one of my all time favorites. Your tip on using the graham cracker crumbs for garnish instead of macadamias (in case of allergies) is a great one! Take care.
In addition to my comment above, I used ReadyWhip to top off each cup before sprinkling with lime zest and crushed graham crackers. Did not use macadamia nuts because of potential allergies.
Hello. This looks like an amazing recipie. What would your suggestion be on how to prepare these a head of time for a wedding. Serving about 150 people? I know time on the wedding day will be an issue.
I plan to make this flavor and maybe two more. Last question.. do you think the 2 oz cups will be enough or should I go with a 5 oz. We will also have a cake.
Hi Tesha, I think these would be perfect for a wedding and that the 2oz cups will be more than enough along side the cake. The filling can be made a few days before the event, then the night before the cups can be filled. When you put the whipped cream on will depend on the stability of your whipped cream, if you are nervous it will fall flat then put the whipped cream on the day of the wedding. Enjoy! 🙂
These look fantastic! We are having a graduation party for my son that is about 3 hours long. If I serve these, do I need to keep them cold? Do you have any suggestions on how to keep them cold on our kitchen counter for that length of time?
Hi Crystal,
These are one of my favorites! I would suggest large rectangular pan, like a 9×13 or larger. Put in the shooters and then surround with ice. Then refill (with both ice and shooters) as needed. Take care 🙂