You’re making guacamole or pad thai from scratch, but to get that one lime you’ll need for your recipe, you need to buy an entire bag of limes. Now what are you going to do with all those juicy limes sitting on your countertop? Aside from the usual Key Lime pie, here are some delicious ways to cook with limes this summer. 

1. Substitute lime juice for lemon in your fave lemon bar recipe

There are few better ways to put an entire bag of citrus to use than by whipping up a batch of fresh lemon bars. Substitute limes in for the lemons in your recipe, and you’ll use up that whole bag in a snap. For a twist on the cooling summer (and yes, indulgent) treat, give this recipe from Martha Stewart a try: Lime Squares with Pistachio Graham-Cracker Crust. It’s like Key Lime pie meets lemon bars with a pistachio-graham cracker crust.

2. Make a fresh lime sorbet

Sorbet is a wonderful recipe for using up ample fresh fruits, and citrus is no exception. Lemon, orange, and especially lime juice are all excellent choices for summer sorbet formulas. Or for a quick three-ingredient sorbet, try out this one from Vegetarian Times: Mango-Lime Sorbet. It’s just mango, agave, and lime juice—simple!

3. Whip up a mousse

Mousse can be intimidating to make from-scratch, but it’s really quite easy to do. It’s really just a matter of whipping together egg yolks, whites, and heavy cream in different stages, then folding all components together. This recipe for Lemon-Lime Mousse with Fresh Strawberries from Zoe Bakes is a great place to start if you’ve never made mousse before.

4. Master the mojito

There’s no better time to master the mojito cocktail than when you’ve got a bagful of limes at your disposal. There are tons of recipes out there that will give you the proper formula for making a pitcher of mojito mixer, especially handy if you’re hosting an afternoon patio party this season. For a lime-packed mojito formula, try out this recipe from Bobbly Flay over at the Food Network: Mojito Limeade.

Image adapted from mrpattersonsir, Flickr, Creative Commons 2.0