Key Lime Tartlets

Key Lime Tartlets are a delightfully delicious and refreshing way to get a Key lime pie fix without having to break out the stretchy pants. I remade these tasty citrus tarts for a recent baby shower and they were a delicious contrast to the sweet, creamy mini cheesecakes on my dessert tray.

Individual Lime tarts are a nice change of pace from the ubiquitous, yet irresistible lemon bars. Whenever making a variety of mini desserts, something citrus is always welcome. Not everyone is as crazy about chocolate as my family.

Key Lime Tartlets

My hubby, Bill, does not like limes. He loves lemonade, lemon bars, lemon meringue pie, but I can’t convince him that lime desserts are just as incredible. So when I first made these individual lime tarts in 2012, I delivered most of them to a neighbor recovering from surgery.

Remembering a splendid key lime pie at one of her dinner parties, I tested out my new square tart molds and made individual Key lime tartlets for dessert. Squirreling away a couple of these petite lime tarts for our household, at least I had little competition for my after dinner indulgence.

Tips for Making Individual Lime Tarts

These key lime tartlets were indeed delectable and elegant little nibbles, but a lot of work. Pressing graham cracker crumbs evenly into many tart molds was no simple task. I used a tassie tamper to assist in the process.

For this batch, I pressed the graham cracker crumbs only onto the bottom of the tart wells. Thinking this could save some work, they were much more difficult to unmold. In fact, I had to chill them and keep my fingers crossed that the sides would not stick. PRO-Tip: I recommend pressing the crumbs up the sides of the wells along with the bottoms if you give these individual lime tarts a try. Scroll down below the recipe to see one of the original photos with the crust pressed up the sides (circa 2012).

PRO-Tip: I used Key limes but standard limes can be substituted. Just don’t use the bottled Key lime juice as fresh lime juice will provide a much more tasty result.

There may be extra crumbs and filling. Make another partial batch or if you own a few small tart pans, use one or two of those to bake larger tarts with the leftovers.

Much as I love individual desserts, my next easy key lime pie will be in a 9 inch pie plate!

More Lime Recipes:

If you gravitate to lemon desserts, why not give some lime sweets a try! For key lime desserts, standard Persian limes can be substituted in a pinch. And if you have leftover limes after making these key lime tartlets, there are loads of cocktails, marinades and sides utilizing lime juice.

• Key Lime Pie Bars
• Honey Lime Fruit Salad
• Caipirinha Cocktail
• Key Lime Pound Cake
• Quinoa Black Bean Salad
• Beergaritas
• The Best Chicken Marinade
• Key Lime Pie Bars
• More Pies and Tart Recipes

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The Recipe:

Key Lime Tartlets

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Yield 12 tartlets

All the wonderful flavors of a Key lime pie in bite sized tarts!

Ingredients

Crust:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons sugar

Filling:

• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• ½ cup bottled or fresh key lime juice
• 1-2 teaspoons key lime or lime zest
• 2 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325º.
2. Mix together melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar till well combined.  
3. Pat crumbs on the bottoms of the openings in a Lift and Serve Tart Squares Pan. The remaining crumbs can be pressed into 2 4-inch tart pans.
4. Chill for about 10 minutes then bake for 10-15 minutes till just golden. Cool.
5. Mix filling ingredients and pour into tart pan openings.  Raise oven temperature to 350º.
6. Bake for about 12-15 minutes for tarts and 15-20 minutes for pie or till just barely set. Cool to room temperature, then chill before serving.
7. Serve with sweetened whip cream and garnish with Key lime slices.

Notes

Adapted from my friend, Lisa, of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1 tartlet
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 85Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 65mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 2g

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This recipe was originally shared in May, 2012. Photos and text were updated in 2019.