Lilikoi Lime Bars

Last Monday I brought these bars in to work.   One of my coworkers in another department sees me with the container while I'm checking out my keys and give me the "I want one" eye.   One bite and she was sold...bringing by a friend from her department to get in on the Lilikoi Lime Bars before they were all gone.    

And they were gone within one day.   Truly the sign of a winning recipe.  

For those of you who don't recognize the word lilikoi, it's the Hawaiian word for passion fruit.  Here, they are yellow (in the picture, the upper right), but you might find purple ones in the store near you. I've heard rumors that they might be $3 a piece on the mainland, but here, they grow in the backyard.  

This recipe is similar in ingredients to Easy Key Lime Pie.   Graham cracker crust, juice, egg yolk, and sweetened condensed milk make up the majority of the ingredients.  

What You Need

Crust
12 graham cracker sheets (or 24 squares), crushed
5 tablespoons melted butter/margarine4 tablespoons brown sugar
pinch of salt

Filling
zest of one lime
6 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice  (2 limes)
1/3 cup fresh lilikoi (passion fruit) juice
3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg yolk

What You Do

Preheat the oven to 325.    Line a 9x9 pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.

To make the crust:

Use a food processor to crush the graham crackers into crumbs easily.   Combine crumbs with melted butter and brown sugar.    Press the crust in the bottom of the pan and bake for 15 minutes.   Cool while making the filling.  

To make the filling:

In a medium bowl, zest your lime.    Then juice that lime, and one other, to get your 6 tablespoons of lime juice.    Whisk together the lime juice, zest, lilikoi juice, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk and egg yolk together until smooth (or smooth as possible....cream cheese might leave a few small lumps).     

Pour the filling over the baked crust and bake for 20-25 minutes until filling is set (no jiggling in the middle).    Chill in the refrigerator before cutting and serving.    

Notes

If you'd like a thicker crust and filling layer, try an 8x8 pan.  

If you've never tried getting juice from a lilikoi...it's full of seeds.   You'll want to use a strainer to push as much juice and pulp through without getting any of the black seeds.    Depending on the size of your fruit, you might need 3-5 lilikoi to get 1/3 cup juice.   

If you're feeling tropical, you might enjoy:

Lilikoi Bars

Mango Lemonade

Meanwhile in Maui

I have a friend from Colorado visiting and yesterday we did the road to Hana (and past Hana for that matter).    Each time I explore, I find new places to enjoy, like this quiet pool.