KEY LIME CHEESCAKE BARS
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Ingredients
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 * 10 oz arrowroot cookie crumbs
 * 1/3 C brown sugar
 * 1/2 C unsalted butter
 * 6 oz soft cream cheese
 * 1 Tbsp lime zest
 * 600 mL (2 cans) condensed milk
 * 2 egg yolks
 * 3/4 C fresh lime juice
 * 1/2 shredded sweetened coconut
 
Procedure
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1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9"x13" baking pan woth foil and spray with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl mix the cookie crumbs and brown sugar, breaking apart any sugar lumps by hand until the mixture is relatively homogeneous. Melt the butter and drizzle over the crumb mixture, then mix well until evenly moistened.

3. Press the cookie crumb base into the bottom of the baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool.

4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, cream together the cheese and lime zest with a spatula. (I used one bag of key limes from Safeway, which gave me about the right amount of zest all told.)

5. Add the condensed milk and whisk until homogeneous. In a small dish, stir the two egg yolks, then add them to the filling and continue whisking.

6. Add 3/4 C lime juice and mix thoroughly. (I found the key limes don't give quite enough juice, so I supplemented with the juice of 1-2 regular (persian) limes. Be careful about the amount - with too much lime juice I found the filling became too thin and the bars didn't properly set. 3/4 C is fine.)

7. Pour the filling over the (new cooled) crust, and spread evenly with a spatula.

8. Bake (still at 325 degrees) for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 1 1/2 hours, then place in the refrigerator and chill for another 2 hours. (Yes these need to be made a fair while in advance.)

9. Finally, toast the coconut in a pan, sprinkle over the top, then cut and serve.




* adapted from a recipe in "More Best Recipes" from Cooks Illustrated.