Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

We had friends coming to dinner on Sunday and I was planning mini-burgers for dinner. I wanted to keep my mini theme for dessert plus I wanted to use my new mini-muffin pans that I received for Christmas and I may be slightly mini obsessed. :) They are just so cute!!!!!

If you are feeling brave (these are kind of labor intensive) and want to make your own mini-lemon meringue pies, you’ll need:

2 mini-muffin pans (48 count total)

2 ½ inch circle cookie cutter

3 frozen pie crusts

For lemon filling:

3 large egg yolks

1 ½ c. sugar

1/3 c. plus 1 T. cornstarch

1 ½ c. water

3 T. stick butter

½ c. lemon juice

2 drops yellow food color

For Meringue:

3 large egg whites

¼ t. cream of tartar

6 T. sugar

½ t. vanilla

Heat oven to 475 degrees.

Cut 48 2 ½ inch circles from the thawed pie crusts.

(You could certainly make the crust from scratch and then cut circles from it, but I decided not to do that this time. These mini pies were a little labor and time intensive already, so I saved some time with the frozen crusts.)

Lightly grease the mini-muffin pans. Place a pie crust circle into each mini-muffin cup. Press down and poke the bottom with a fork. Bake these mini-crusts for about 5 minutes at 475. When crusts are done, remove from oven and set aside. Turn oven temp down to 400 degrees.

(Watch the crusts. Mine browned very quickly. I even thought mine were a little over done, but I baked them about 7 minutes, 5 minutes should be about right but it will depend on your oven and your pans, etc.)

Next, prepare the lemon filling. Beat egg yolks with fork in small bowl. Mix sugar and cornstarch in 2-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Immediately, stir at least half of the hot mixture into the egg yolks to temper them. Stir back into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in butter, lemon juice and food color. Spoon about 1 T. of filling into each of the prepared mini-pie crusts.

To prepare meringue: Beat egg white and cream of tarter in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 T. at a time. Continue to beat until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Beat in vanilla.

Spoon or use pastry bag fitted with large tip to pipe about 1 T. of prepared meringue unto each mini pie. Be careful to seal meringue to edge of each pie to prevent shrinking and weeping. (I spooned mine on, but they would have been prettier if it had been piped on.)

Bake in the 400 degree oven for about 6 minutes until meringue has browned slightly. Cool a few moments and then run knife around each mini-pie to be sure they are easier to remove when completely cooled.

Enjoy!

*Thanks to Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook for lemon filling/meringue ingredients, amounts and some directions.