the best key lime bars

[photo source]: cooksillustrated.com

Last night we made The Best Key Lime Bars from the July/August 2006 issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine. They were FABULOUS. Seriously. They use animal crackers instead of graham crackers for the crust. The toasted coconut topping is optional, but I think it is a must. I'm not a lime or key lime kind of gal, but these were so great. I think it really makes a difference to use fresh lime juice as opposed to the bitter bottled stuff. Oh, and if you use salted butter instead of unsalted, do not add salt to your crust.

Cook's Illustrated is probably my favorite cooking magazine. These are the cooks from America's Test Kitchen. The tv show and the cookbook. You know, the guy with the bow tie? They review the best kitchen products and appliances, and they make/test so many variations of one recipe until they find "the best". I think it's a very useful and educational magazine.