Lemon Tree Dwelling

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{No Bake} Key Lime Meltaways
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Sweet and tart key lime bars on a crumbled sugar cookie crust – these Key Lime Meltaways literally melt in your mouth…and are sure to leave you wanting more!

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I’m not sure I’ve ever met someone who loves key lime as much as I do. And not just because it’s the perfect sweet-tart combination, or because it’s most often eaten in the form of a pie, but because, for me, it brings back instant memories of my honeymoon. It’s hard to believe my honeymoon was nearly 9 years ago now….in some ways, it feels just like yesterday! I remember so much of it – riding bikes around Sanibel Island, lying on the beach for an entire afternoon, eating endless baskets of crab legs, playing cards late at night by the pool, collecting seashells at Captiva beach……

…..and sampling the key lime pie at every restaurant we could! We both discovered a love for it early on and decided we would try all the different variations that Sanibel & Captiva Islands had to offer. Needless to say, between the baskets of crab legs dipped in melted butter, the pina coladas and strawberry daquiris, and the countless pieces of key lime pie, we were both completely stuffed by the end of our trip! Completely stuffed and completely ready to get back and start our lives together.

There are so many things in life that feel like they fly by and leave you wanting more. And you know what? My honeymoon wasn’t one of them! That sounds bad….I know. Don’t get me wrong – I loved every minute of it! And I would go back and do it all over in a heartbeat! But. At the beginning of our honeymoon I made a conscious decision to NOT let it fly by. I decided I would pay attention to the moments….and I hoped they would somehow last longer if I did.

And so, as we were riding our bikes around the island, I was taking a mental snapshot of the palm trees and stopping to feel the wind blow through my hair. As we were lying on the beach, I was smelling the salty air and committing to memory the feeling of the Florida sun on my back. And as we were enjoying our 18th piece of key lime pie (only a slight exaggeration) I was looking at the man across from me and realizing that I didn’t need anything more – I already had enough! Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about these Key Lime Meltaways. These sweet little bars leave you wanting more, each and every time. I guess some things are just like that.

{No Bake} Key Lime Meltaways

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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Author: Cathy Trochelman

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 c. prepared sugar cookies crumbled
  • 2/3 c. unsalted butter softened (not melted)
  • 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. key lime juice
  • zest of 2 key limes
  • 3-4 key limes sliced, for garnish

Instructions

  • Combine cookie crumbs and 1/3 c. butter in a medium bowl. Press onto bottom of an 9-inch square pan. Refrigerate until firm.
  • Combine powdered sugar, 1/3 c. butter, key lime juice, and key lime zest in a small bowl. Beat at medium-high speed until light and smooth. Spread over crust.
  • Score bars to desired size (approx. 1 1/2 inch squares) and top each square with a key lime slice.
  • Cover bars and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Store in refrigerator. Remove lime slice before eating.
  • (*Recipe adapted from The Cookie Cookbook: Citrus Cream Bars)

If you like these, be sure to check out some of my other delicious bar recipes!

 

No-Bake Mint Oreo Meltaways

Cookie Butter Scotcheroos

 

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Comments

  5. Julie says

    These just look so SO good, Cathy! I could easily make them dairy free by subbing the butter with dairy free sticks! Pinning this and sharing on Facebook later! Have a great 4th!

    Julie @ This Gal Cooks

    Reply

  13. Tracey Harrelson says

    Oh, these key lime bars look beautiful and delicious! Stopping by your blog for the 1st time today … found you through the Google+ Blog Hop. Thank you for sharing this recipe and for co-hosting the hop!
    Tracey @ The Kitchen is My Playground

    Reply

  16. Brooke says

    I have a whole bag of key limes in my fridge. I know exactly what to do with them now. Can’t wait to try it! Thanks so much for sharing. Happy Monday to you!

    Reply

  19. Lizbeth McGow says

    These are not just pretty but delicious, soooo much better than the dried out meltaways that I buy, lol! Thanks for creating this deliciousness! Pining of course to my good eats board,
    Lizy@http://justdipitinchocolate.blogspot.com/

    Reply

  28. Sinea Pies says

    Cathy, these are a work of art. Key limes apparently are not just ordinary limes, huh? I’ll have to google that….and then MAKE some! Yum.
    Thanks for sharing this on Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop and thanks so much for co-hosting with me! 🙂
    Sinea
    Ducks ‘n a Row

    Reply

  29. Huckleberry Love says

    Oh my gosh! These look simply amazing. I love that you used fresh lime as a garnish! These have been pinned to our dessert board and I hope to make them soon!

    Thanks for linking up with us for Much Ado About Monday again. We LOVE all of your fabulous recipes! Have a great weekend! 🙂

    ~Emily
    http://www.huckleberrylove.com

    Reply

  36. Lin R says

    Thank you for this recipe. I am going to make these next week. What kind of sugar cookies do you use…homemade or is there a brand you recommend please?

    Reply

    • Cathy Trochelman says

      Hi Lin, I used store bought that were in a sleeve and had a flower shape. The brand was Rippin Good but I’m not sure if they are sold everywhere. Looking online, it seems that they are sold in a number of larger grocery stores and on Amazon. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  38. Tammy N says

    Love the no-bake idea for summer treats. I love lemon bars so this recipe caught my eye. I would be a good alternative to an old favorite.

    Reply

  42. Jen says

    I used a dry sugar cookie mix and pressed it into the cups of a mini muffin pan and baked them. Then took them out of the pan let them cool and filled them with this delicious key lime mixture. I followed the recipe exactly except I left out the zest and obviously the sugar cookie part was different. Everyone loved them and I keep pointing them to your website. Thanks for the easy, yummy recipe!

    Reply

  45. eBoneigh1 says

    I actually ended up making these with my partner. While I love the idea, I couldn’t get past the butter taste, as there are 2/3 cups of butter in this one 8×8 pan. I think next time I’ll substitute the butter in the lime mixture with cream cheese and maybe add some cool-whip for some added fluff.

    Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  46. Christine says

    I made these Key Lime meltaways yesterday with the slight modification that I used coconut sugar cookie crumbs for the crust. They were fantastic! I’ll try the mint Oreo ones as well someday soon. Thanks for the great recipes!

    Reply

  47. Roia says

    Looked delicious so I tried recipe, unfortunately almost 24hrs after they had still not set. Mixture was soupy in the begining and so I had added 1/2 c extra powdered sugar. I looked at similar recipe for oreo cream meltaways and noticed it called for 3c powdered sugar and 1/2c of butter.This recipe called for 1/3c butter and 1.5c powdered sugar. So I added 3 Tb soft butter and 1c powdered sugar to mixer then poured topping off into mixer blended it and put back on top of cookies. Mixture was a lot better.

    Reply

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    Reply

  50. Amanda says

    Hi there, all I have is regular limes. Can you give me any insight on how these would turn out with the regular limes?

    Reply

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