Non-Dairy Keylime Pie

 There are a few desserts characterized particularly by the dairy ingredients in them... like cheesecake, ice cream, pudding, and key lime pie.  For real, key lime pie is so great because of the heavenly, rich texture and subtle sweetness contributed by glorious sweetened condensed milk.  I could eat that stuff by the spoonful, crap I could eat it by the ladle-ful... if I didn't feel sick to my stomach 13 minutes later.  Therefore, the idea of attempting a non-dairy key lime pie was pretty daunting.  UNTIL my mom told me about Trader Joe's non-dairy cream cheese, which is actually super delicious (and generally speaking, I find fake dairy stuff totally repulsive.  Have you ever tried veggie cheese? Blehhh it's like trying to melt a makeup sponge on your food...).  Suddenly, a new dimension of desserts was opened to me, and this is a very happy dimension. 

• 8 oz non-dairy cream cheese (Tofutti or Trader Joe's)
• 12 oz silk tofu
• 1/3 cup key lime juice
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbs lime zest (optional)
• Prepared graham cracker crust
• Non-dairy whipped topping

1. In a medium bowl, combine non-dairy cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy with an electric mixer.  Add lime juice, vanilla, lime zest, and tofu.  Mix on high until well-incorporated.  
2. Pour into prepared crust, and chill until firm, approximately 2 hours.  Top with whipped topping, additional lime zest, and serve.

Notes:

• Key limes are different than regular limes, they are more acidic and bitter.  Regular limes can be substituted without losing much integrity.
• 1/3 cup key lime juice equals approximately 20 key limes, depending on their juiciness.  Key lime juice is also available in a bottle in the fruit juice section of your grocery.
• I like serving my key lime pie in a shot glass- layer graham cracker crumbs and filling, top with whipped topping, and chill.
• Instead of a hand mixer you can use a blender.
• If you want your pie green, add a couple drops food coloring.  Authentic key lime pie however is pale yellow.  And food coloring is scary.
• If you are making this for a vegan, make sure to read your graham cracker crust carefully, some contain honey, which is not vegan. 

Yields a 9" pie or ~2 dozen shooters.