Calling All Chocoholics

When we were down in Key West, I discovered a new dessert, that I just could not live without......Frozen Chocolate-dipped Key Lime Pie on a stick. Two of my favorite flavors together, chocolate and citrus! The only problem I had with the dessert was the piece of pie was too large and by the time you were able to finish it, even with sharing, it was melting. I know it sounds amazing, not that things melt in this Florida heat, but that I would share my dessert! Well anyway, over the weekend I decided to try a twist on this dessert and make Frozen Chocolate-dipped Key Lime Squares, and they were met with rave reviews! The first thing I had to do was go buy and plant a key lime tree! Just kidding, I picked out a beauty the last time I was at Colorfield Farms and Gordy planted before we left for the Keys.

For Key Limes, the time from bloom to edible fruit is approximately 3-4 months.

Key Lime Trees perform best with full sun (at least 8 hours per day) and regular watering with well-drained soil. (No wet feet)
The tree can grow in a pot to restrict size or in areas that can suffer a heavy freeze. But after 3 or 4 years in a pot, you will need to replace the soil since it will be exhausted of nutrients. You can either replant into a larger pot or cut away some of the outer roots with a sharp, strong knife and replant in the same pot but with fresh soil.
If planted in the ground, they can grow to 10-15 feet tall and wide or larger.

The Key Lime bears heavily when mature. Its crop size increases as the plant matures. It may bear 10 or more limes even at 3 years old. The fruit is green in color until it matures. The main crop matures in the summer. In a tropical climate, the Key Lime Tree can bear fruit nearly all year long.

Key limes are much smaller (ping-pong to golfball-sized) than Persian limes, nearly spherical, thin-skinned, and often contain a few seeds. Green key limes are actually immature fruits, prized for their acidity. As they ripen to a yellow color, the acid content diminishes greatly, resulting in a sweeter fruit.
To make the squares, the first thing I did was start with my basic Lemon Square recipe, but substituted key lime juice for the lemon.

KEY LIME SQUARES
2 c. flour
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. butter
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
Pinch salt
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 c. key lime juice
1/8 tsp. grated key lime peel
Powdered sugar
Combine flour and powdered sugar. Add slices of butter and mix until smooth.
Press dough into bottom of a 9"x13" baking pan. (see note below)
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
In the meantime, beat eggs at high speed with electric mixer until light in color.
Slowly add sugar, salt, flour, baking powder, peel and key lime juice.
Beat at high speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour mixture into hot pie crust and return to oven for 20 to 25 more minutes. Sprinkle at once with powdered sugar. Cool and cut into bars. Separate the bars and freeze on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. When frozen, melt good quality chocolate over a double boiler and dip squares one at a time, returning them to the cookie sheet. Freeze until ready to serve.
NOTE: to make squares easier to remove from the pan and slice. Grease bottom and sides of your 9x13 pan then line the pan with parchment paper and grease again. Greasing the pan before you place the parchment paper, keeps the paper from sliding while you are pressing in the crust.