Key Lime Pie Parfaits

I wanted to make this for an Easter dessert, but none of us were feeling great so I made it several days later. YUM. Very rich and I ended up making mine much smaller servings than the original recipe called for. I found this recipe sometime in the last few years from Cooking Light and adapted it a bit.

For the right flavor, you're going to want to use key lime juice. Key limes are adorable mini limes with a more tart flavor, but they were not to be found when I made this recipe. So I used Nellie & Joe's key lime juice, found in my local grocery store near the lemon juice.

Key Lime Pie Parfaits

1/2 cup key lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated lime zest
2 eggs
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups sweetened whipped cream
1 cup graham cracker or cookie crumbs
Lime zest for garnish

Combine lime juice, sugar, lime zest, eggs, and sweetened condensed milk in large bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Pour into a double boiler {or create your own by using a bowl sitting on top of a saucepan}. Cook over simmering water, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens {6+ minutes or temp of 160 - mine took a long time to thicken up}. Remove from heat and place pan in ice-filled bowl for 25 minutes, until mixture cools to room temp. Stir mixture occasionally.

Whip heavy cream and sweeten or use spray whipped cream or Cool Whip. In small serving dishes or glasses, start layers with a couple teaspoons of whipped cream. Top with a couple teaspoons of cracker/cookie crumbs and then a couple tablespoons of lime mixture. Repeat layers. Top each serving with some more whipped cream and sprinkle with lime zest. The glasses I used in the pics are 6-oz glasses. You could also serve a single set of layers in a shot glass with a mini spoon. Serve immediately! Yummy...

If you like the flavor of lime, you might also enjoy Key Lime Muffins or Cool Lime Napoleons.

Do you like Key Lime Pie? Do you have a favorite lime dessert?

This post is linked to:

 ~ Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

 ~ Chic & Crafty Party at The Frugal Girls

 ~ I'm Lovin' It at TidyMom 

This post is #16 in my April blogging challenge.

Have a blessed day friends!

Cool Lime Napoleons

Another lovely little Summer dessert and just right for a tea party! I found this recipe online from Pampered Chef years ago and tweaked it a little to take to a tea party recently. It's pretty and refreshing!

Cool Lime Napoleons

1 pkg refrigerated crescent rolls
3 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, drained and patted dry
1 large lime
8 oz heavy whipping cream
Powdered sugar to taste
1/4 cup sliced almonds, finely chopped
Powdered sugar for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle 9x13 pan or slightly bigger bar pan with flour. Unroll crescent dough across length of pan. Pinch seams to seal. Lightly sprinkle dough with flour. Roll evenly to cover bottom of pan. Use fork to prick dough all over. Bake 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely.

2. Transfer pastry to cutting board. Cut 6 rows across and 4 lengthwise {a pizza cutter works great}. Slice Kiwi. Place 1 kiwi slice topped with 1 mandarin orange onto each pastry.

3. Zest lime to get 1 teaspoon zest. Whip heavy whipping cream in mixing bowl. Before cream is completely whipped, add lime zest and powdered sugar to taste. Whip together. Pipe {or dollop} 1 rosette of cream on center of each pastry.

4. Sprinkle finely chopped almonds over rosettes. Lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve!

*Variation: Instead of heavy whipping cream, original recipe calls for 8 oz. container whipped topping, thawed, combined with 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon lime zest, and 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice. Use this mixture to pipe rosettes. You could try different fruit combinations, too!

Do you have a favorite refreshing dessert?

This reminds me of another tea party dessert with lime ~ Key Lime Muffins ~ yum!

This post linked to:
 ~ Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
 ~ Chic & Crafty Party at The Frugal Girls
 ~ I'm Lovin' It at TidyMom
 ~ Sweet Tooth Friday at Alli 'N Sons

If you enjoyed stopping and smelling the chocolates with me, I'd love it if you click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS! 

Have a blessed and refreshing day friends!

Watermelon and Lime Granita

I actually posted this recipe (found it in a Cooking Light magazine) a couple of years ago on my healthier blog, but I just *had* to share it here because it's so pretty, yummy, and refreshing at the same time - a fabulous Summer treat!

Watermelon and Lime Granita

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
4 cups cubed seedless watermelon
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 5 limes)

1. Place sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Place sugar mixture in a small bowl; cool 10 minutes. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes.

2. Place sugar mixture, watermelon, and lime juice in a blender; process until smooth. Pour watermelon mixture into an 11x7-in. baking dish; cover and freeze at least 2 hours or overnight. Remove mixture from freezer, and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Scrape the entire mixture with a fork until fluffy. Serve with lime wedges, if desired. Yield: 6 servings (1/2 cup each).

100 cal, .2 g fat, .5 g fiber

Do you like watermelon?  Do you have a favorite watermelon recipe?  I hope you get a chance to try this out!  Enjoy it and the rest of your weekend friends!

This post is linked to:
~ Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
~ Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at At The Well
~ Ice Cream Linky Party at Mom's Crazy Cooking