key lime tart

(Can I toot my own horn here at how like the magazine photo my tart came out? Toot! Toot!)

Last week was my mother-in-law's birthday. We weren't with her to celebrate but we did visit over Labor Day weekend the weekend before. We had lobster and hung out casually at the house. It was lovely.

Anyways, before we left for that trip I was at home leafing through my recipes in the mood to bake something. I have to be careful because when I bake, we eat. Probably a little too much a little too quickly. Lately I've been using leftie as an excuse for why I could indulge in sweets but at my last doctor's visit I was told that 5lbs in 4 weeks was okay but I couldn't keep going at that rate to the end of my pregnancy. That would be a bit too much weight.

But back to the story at hand. Two weekends ago, I decided to make key lime tarts in honor of my mother-in-law. It's one of her favorite desserts and her birthday was around the corner. I gathered up the supplies beforehand and brought them with us to New Hampshire.

I got the recipe from my trusty copy of Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies from a few years back. That was the best six bucks I've ever plunked down. I've made only about a dozen or less of the cookies in that magazine and they've all been stellar. The chocolate chip cookie recipe is my personal favorite for this old time classic.

(Admit it, you want to make this gingerbread snowflake, don't you?)

The key lime tarts were similarly awesome. I've never had key lime pie before. I find the color of them off-putting. But then again I don't think I've ever seen any really good key lime pies. Most of them are of the big chain supermarket variety--the kind you'd suspect has lots of lime green food coloring involved. But these little tarts were wonderful. So tart and smooth - almost like a lemonade custard. The graham cracker crust a sweet crumbly counterpoint. And the fresh whipped cream is a nice balance to it all. Another recipe that I intend to revisit when the inspiration or craving strikes.

And most importantly the birthday girl enjoyed them very much.