Nancy,
I have tried a few different recipes. The one you're mentioning, w/ egg yolks, is on the bag of key limes found in the produce section at WalMart. I didn't enjoy it as much as the one below from my Robin Miller Cookbook.
I found this key lime pie my favorite & the easiest. I used the handle end of a can opener to squeeze the key limes.
1-8 oz tub Cool Whip, slightly thawed
1-14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice(I used about 20 key limes)
Combine & then put in a graham cracker pie crust. Freeze until firm.

It's really good!

My family loves the one made with Nellie & Joe's. I always make my own graham cracker crust, and serve it with a dollop of fresh whipped cream on top.

Barefoot Contessa has a recipe for a frozen key lime pie which got raves when I made it for a luncheon dessert. I regret I am running late, and can't type out the recipe. I think it can be easily located on the web. It's a good make-ahead dessert.

I used the handle end of a can opener to squeeze the key limes.

Hey what a good idea!

This is a highly rated recipe from Epicurious. It is so fast and easy and I make it all the time.

I like using the egg yolks because it gives it a custardy richness that works well with the tartness of the lime.

When I'm really feeling lazy I buy a premade graham cracker crust.

For crust
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs from 9 (2 1/4-inch by 4 3/4-inch) crackers
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh or bottled Key lime juice (if using bottled, preferably Manhattan brand)

For topping
3/4 cup chilled heavy cream

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined well, then press mixture evenly onto bottom and up side of a 9-inch (4-cup) glass pie plate.

Bake crust in middle of oven 10 minutes and cool in pie plate on a rack. Leave oven on.

Make filling and bake pie:
Whisk together condensed milk and yolks in a bowl until combined well. Add juice and whisk until combined well (mixture will thicken slightly).

Pour filling into crust and bake in middle of oven 15 minutes. Cool pie completely on rack (filling will set as it cools), then chill, covered, at least 8 hours.

Make topping:
Just before serving, beat cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Serve pie topped with cream.

Some recipes call for slicing the whole limes, etc., but since I can't get actual Key limes here, I use the easy version. I don't like the egg kind, and the Cool Whip version is too fluffy for me. SO I use this:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2-3/4 c key lime juice (to your taste)

Mix everything until completely smooth. Add a touch of green food coloring if you want to. Pour it all in a graham cracker crust and chill at least two hours.

We like ours garnished with lime twists and whipped cream.

Here is the frozen Key Lime pie I use. It is a combination of a couple of different recipes. Usually, my key lime in the garden gives enough fruits, but sometime I have to purchase the juice. Does not make much difference. This recipe is very, very close to our favorite pie in the Keys. You can freeze or not, to your preference.

Graham Cracker Crust: 1 paper wrapped package of graham crackers (about 1 1/4 cups); 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 4 tablespoons granulated sugar; 4 tablespoons melted butter.

Filling: 4 eggs, separated; 1 14-oz. can sweetened condense milk (I use no fat); 1 scant 2/3 cup Key lime juice (16 key limes); 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar.

4 egg whites (from the separated eggs); 4 tablespoons sugar

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9" pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Break up the graham crackers; place in a food processor and process to crumbs. (If you don't have a food processor, place the crackers in a large plastic bag; seal and crush the crackers with a rolling pin.) In a bowl (or in the food processor) add the cinnamon, mix, and then add the sugar. Add the melted butter and pulse or stir until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pie pan, forming a neat border around the edge. Bake the crust until set and golden 8-9 minutes. Set aside on a wire rack, but leave the oven on.

For the filling: With and electric mixer, beat the egg yolks on high speed until thick and light in color. Turn off the mixer and add the condensed milk. Mix on slow speed. Still on slow speed, add half the lime juice, cream of tartar, and then the remaining juice. Mix until blended. Pour into the prepared crust and bake for about 15 min. or until the center is firm. Freeze for at least 3 hours before topping with meringue.

To make the meringue, heat the egg whites and sugar in the top of a double boiler, stirring frequently, to 110 degrees. Remove from heat and beat on high speed until stiff peaks are formed. Top the frozen pie with the meringue and return it to the freezer until ready to serve. It will keep for several days.

Serves 6-8.

ok, thanks everyone!

I guess I always thought there was more to it than sweetened condensed milk--like making a cooked custard or something...

off to peruse my cabinets--I think I may be out of cond. milk...

Nancy

Hmmm, I have never used anything but regular limes- not key limes- but I do use about 7 fresh squeezed ones for a pie along with several tablespoons of zest. I would never use bottled juice. Or anything but fresh whipped cream on top.
My recipe has egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, zest and juice in a graham cracker crust.
But I guess it's not really key lime pie.

Sorry, regular limes DO NOT make key lime pie. The KL pie should be yellowish, not greenish. Whipped cream? OK, but regular meringue isn't to be sniffed at, either. There are a huge number of recipes, but in a pinch the bottled stuff is really good. After all, not everyone can get fresh key limes all the time!

The key to making great lime pie is not in using Key limes but in using fresh limes, right off the tree. I get fresh limes all the time, many more than I can use, and they are extremely juicy-I often get 1/4 cup of juice from one lime. When they are ripe, they are slightly yellow instead of green and look almost like lemons. They are also almost sweet when they are completely ripe. Here's how my pie looks - a bit messy, but still good:
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Here's my recipe:

Lime Pie
Crust

6 tbsp unsalted butter
2-1/2 tbsp sugar
1-1/4 cups Graham cracker crumbs

Filling

2 tbsp cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese
2 tsp sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3-4 fresh limes (enough for 1/2 cup juice)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 smidgeon salt (1/32 tsp)
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Topping
1-1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch

Directions

Melt butter and add sugar. This can be done in a 9" or 8" Pyrex pie pan, or a bowl, as you prefer. Add the Graham cracker crumbs and mix with a fork to combine. Press into a 8" or 9" pie pan and bake 7 minutes at 350° and allow to cool.

Soften the cream cheese in a bowl with 2 tsp sugar and add the eggs. Beat to combine thoroughly. Zest the limes, preferably with a Microplane grater, to obtain 1 tbsp lime zest, to be used later. Squeeze limes to obtain at least half a cup of lime juice, and add the cornstarch . Mix this with the cream cheese/egg mixture and add the salt and condensed milk, and combine. A hand-held mixer can be used at this point, especially if you have used it to beat the cream cheese and eggs. Stir in the lime zest by hand and pour the mixture into the slightly cooled pie shell. Bake at 375° for 18 minutes. Allow the pie to cool, and then chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Chill the egg beaters and bowl for the whipping cream in the freezer while the pie is chilling, and then whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and cornstarch and beat until fairly stiff. Cover the top of the chilled pie with whipped cream and serve.

Yield: 8 servings.

I decided to add cream cheese to my recipe when the sweetened condensed milk can shrank from 16 oz. to 14 oz., and I decided that I liked it better with a bit of cream cheese. My pie does not pretend to be a Key Lime pie - it's just a lime pie, but I made it for my boss for her birthday, and she told me that it was by far the best one she had ever had. I told her that the reason for that was that I had just picked the limes the same day that I made the pie. If you want, I can mail you some limes - just email me your address, but of course they won't make it in time for your BIL's party, and they would be several days off the tree by the time they arrive.

Lars

This recipe is from Cook's Illustrated... and it truly is the best! And, it allows for either a whipped cream or meringue topping.

KEY LIME PIE Serves 8 Cooks Illustrated

LIME FILLING
4 teaspoons grated zest plus 1/2 cup strained juice from 3 to 4 limes
4 large egg yolks
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
11 full graham crackers, processed to fine crumbs (1 1/4 cups)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 lime, sliced paper thin and dipped in sugar (optional)

1. For the filling: Whisk zest and yolks in medium bowl until tinted light green, about 2 minutes. Beat in milk, then juice; set aside at room temperature to thicken.

2. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs and sugar in medium bowl. Add butter; stir with fork until well blended. Pour mixture into 9-inch pie pan; press crumbs over bottom and up sides of pan to form even crust. Bake until lightly browned and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

3. Pour lime filling into crust; bake until center is set, yet wiggly when jiggled, 15 to 17 minutes. Return pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours. (Can be covered with lightly oiled or oil-sprayed plastic wrap laid directly on filling and refrigerated up to 1 day.)

4. For the whipped cream: Up to 2 hours before serving, whip cream in medium bowl to very soft peaks. Adding confectioners sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, continue whipping to just-stiff peaks. Decoratively pipe whipped cream over filling or spread evenly with rubber spatula. Garnish with optional sugared lime slices and serve.

If you prefer a meringue topping, follow the instructions in "No-Weep Lemon Meringue Pie" in the November/December 1994 issue. Bake pie only 7 minutes, then apply meringue gently, first spreading a ring around the outer edge, then filling in the center. Return to oven and bake 20 minutes more.

Meringue Topping

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

8. For the meringue, mix cornstarch with 1/3 cup water in small saucepan; bring to simmer, whisking occasionally at beginning and more frequently as mixture thickens. When mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent, remove from heat. Let cool while beating egg whites.

9. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix cream of tartar and sugar together. Beat egg whites and vanilla until frothy. Beat in sugar mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; until sugar is incorporated and mixture forms soft peaks. Add cornstarch mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue to beat meringue to stiff peaks. Remove plastic from filling and return to very low heat during last minute or so of beating meringue (to ensure filling is hot).

10. Pour filling into pie shell. Using a rubber spatula, immediately distribute meringue evenly around edge then center of pie to keep it from sinking into filling. Make sure meringue attaches to pie crust to prevent shrinking. Use spoon to create peaks all over meringue. Bake pie until meringue is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature. Serve.

I use the recipe on the Nellie and Joe's bottle always turns out well and is fast and easy. It's better if you squeeze your own key limes which tend to be small and tough. and enough trouble so you won't do it very often. The fast easy one is a great favorite in this house.

so I thought I'd update. I basically combined everyone's recipes. :)

I only have 9.5" pie plates, so there wasn't enough filling. Luckily I had bought 2 cans of sw. cond. milk.

so I used: 3 oz. of cream cheese, 1 1/2 cans of milk (fat free), 6 egg yolks and 3/4c. of lime juice and some grated zest. filled the 9.5" pie plate perfectly. It was a hit, served with real whipped cream.

and easy enough that I would definitely make it again when I need a quick-prep dessert.

(sarcasm on) Lars, I'm gonna have to slap you silly next time you complain 'bout having too many limes/avocados etc! (sarcasm off) I'm just jealous because it's snowing here today.
but seriously, all the recipes look so good and reminded me I wanted to try a mojito pie for St pats day but was not up to it that week, so perhaps we'll do it a week late.
Thanks for sharing

It snowed here over the weekend too, sprout, so don't feel alone, LOL.

I've never made a lime pie, I usually use up all the limes I can get my hands on making Jessica's Lime Chipotle marinade. Next time I find them cheap, though, I'm going to make Lars' pie!

Annie

Okay--I have friends who own a bakery, and who winter in Key West. They sell excellant Key Lime Pie in their bakery--but even they will admit it's not authentic. According to my friend the baker, it's not TRUE, ORIGINAL key lime pie unless you use key limes and pelican eggs. It was originally created to use the ingredients readily available in the area. And the original recipe is baked, no sweetened condensed in it--it's a real custard type filling.

Pelican eggs! Yuck! I guess I don't want true, authentic key lime pie.
If anyone lives near St. Augustine...they make the best key lime fudge. It makes my mouth water thinking about it.