Lime Bars Recipe with Gingersnap Crust

The perfect mixture of tart and sweet, these lime bars with a zippy gingersnap crust always disappear quickly!

Lime Bars Recipe with Gingersnap Crust

When I first set out to make these lime bars, my most serious task was to develop a crust that would complement the tart lime filling. Little did I know that flavors and textures would be the least of my concerns. Rather, I was distracted by two little hands that kept creeping onto the counter to seize the cut lime halves. My 6-year old son finds it difficult to resist any sort of citrus. If there are lime, lemon, orange or grapefruit wedges in site, they are likely to be in his mouth before you can say, "Goodbye, tooth enamel."

My only chance of concentrating on the task at hand was to sit him down with a bowl of lime wedges, which he happily sucked dry. I have no explanation. Then again, this is a kid that would choose a plateful of eel sushi over Cheerios any day of the week.

With the lemon already taken out of the traditional lemon squares, I figured that a shift away from the standard cake-like or shortbread crust was in order. During the height of rhubarb season, I had great success with my Rhubarb Cheesecake Bars with Gingersnap Crust.. The chewiness of the crust stood up well to the tart, creamy cheesecake filling. Given that these lime bars have a very soft and acidic filling, it seemed likely that the pairing would work in this case, too. And did it ever!

The lime squares recipe:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a 8-inch square baking pan by lining the pan with aluminum foil, leaving 3-4 inches of foil draping over the sides of the pan.

For the crust, place 3 whole graham crackers and 12 gingersnaps, broken into 1-inch pieces, into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the crackers form fine crumbs, about 30 seconds.

To the crumbs, add unsalted butter (melted and cooled), brown sugar, all-purpose flour, and salt. Pulse until the ingredients are fully combined. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or your fingers, press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake until the crust is beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

Prepare the filling while the crust bakes so that the warm filling can be poured into a still-warm crust.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, a couple of large eggs, and the sugar. Next, whisk in some grated lime zest, fresh lime juice and a pinch of salt. Add unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, and set over medium heat. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and it reaches 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Immediately pour the mixture through a strainer set over a medium bowl and stir in the heavy cream. Discard the lime pieces left in the strainer.

Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

Pour the filling into the warm crust and bake until the filling is opaque and jiggles slightly in the center when shaken, 10 to 15 minutes. Be sure to rotate the pan halfway through baking.

Place the pan on a wire rack and let the bars cool for about 2 hours. Using the foil ends, lift the bars out of the pan, remove the foil, and cut into 16 squares. Dust with powdered (confectioner's) sugar just before serving.

Other desserts with lime:

David Lebovitz's Lime Meringue Tart
The Pioneer Woman's Key Lime Pie
Two Peas and Their Pod's Chewy Lime & Coconut Sugar Cookies

Printable Recipe

Lime Bars with Gingersnap Crust

The perfect mixture of tart and sweet, these lime bars with a zippy gingersnap crust always disappear quickly!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Lime Bars

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cooling Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 3 hours hours

Servings: 16 Bars

Calories: 218kcal

Author: Dara Michalski | Cookin' Canuck

Ingredients

The crust:

• 3 graham crackers, broken into 1-inch pieces
• 12 gingersnaps, broken into 1-inch pieces
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• ⅛ teaspoon salt

The filling:

• 7 egg yolks
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• ¼ cup grated lime zest (from 4 to 5 limes)
• ⅔ cup fresh lime juice (from 4 to 5 limes)
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 3 tablespoon heavy cream
• Powdered (confectioner's) sugar

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare an 8-inch square baking pan by lining the pan with aluminum foil, leaving 3-4 inches of foil draping over the sides of the pan.

The crust:

• Place graham crackers and gingersnaps into the bowl of a food processor and pulse
  until the crackers form fine crumbs, about 30 seconds.
• To the crumbs, add butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt. Pulse until the ingredients are fully combined.
• Using the bottom of a measuring cup or your fingers, press the crumbs into the bottom
  of the prepared pan.
• Bake until the crust is beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

The filling:

• Prepare the filling while the crust bakes so that the warm filling can be poured into a still-warm crust.
• In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, eggs, and sugar. Whisk in lime zest, lime juice, and salt. Add butter, and set over medium heat.
• Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and it reaches 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
• Immediately pour the mixture through a strainer set over a medium bowl and stir in heavy cream. Discard the lime pieces left in the strainer.
• Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• Pour the filling into the warm crust and bake until the filling is opaque and jiggles slightly in the center when shaken, 10 to 15 minutes. Be sure to rotate the pan halfway through baking.
• Place the pan on a wire rack and let the bars cool for about 2 hours. Using the foil ends, lift the bars out of the pan, remove the foil, and cut into 16 squares. Dust with powdered (confectioner’s) sugar just before serving.

Notes

Filling adapted from America's Test Kitchen

Nutrition

Serving: 1Bar | Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 129mg | Sodium: 77mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 408IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg

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