Key Lime Chill

Key Lime Chill
I was excited to read that Rachel over at Coconut & Lime was having a recipe contest to celebrate her blog's third birthday. Not having a recipe that used both coconut & lime, I decided to tweak an existing recipe & see what happened. I wanted to do something with a key lime flavor but didn't have any key lime juice on hand. Then I remembered that I did have two packages of key lime cheeseball mix. Hoping my idea would work since I'd be serving this at our cookout later today, I got to work.

The end result turned out pretty well. The saltiness of the pretzel crust was a nice contrast to the tart filling, and the topping of toasted coconut & crushed macadmia nuts provided a nice texture. A cool dessert on the front porch is the perfect end to a hot summer day.

Key Lime Chill
1-1/2 cups crumbs from crushed thin pretzels.
4 -1/2 T. sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes
2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 container (8 oz.) Cool Whip® - thawed
2 packages Key Lime Cheeseball Mix (any brand – I used Tastefully Simple)
1/4 cup crushed Macadamia Nuts
1/3 cup Coconut Flakes, lightly toasted
•White Chocolate Chips (optional)

Mix the pretzel crumbs & 1/3 cup coconut flakes with 4-1/2 tablespoons sugar and the melted butter. Press the pretzel crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350º for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the cream cheese & cheeseball mix together until smooth. Fold in the thawed whipped topping. Spread the mixture evenly over the baked, cooled pretzel crust. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Top with crushed macadamia nuts & lightly toasted coconut. Drizzle with melted white chocolate if desired (I skipped this step).