Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

So I love lemon desserts, I must get it from my dad.

So for my 30th birthday I decided – what could be cuter than mini lemon meringue pies. After a bit of googling I found this Epicurous Recipe (here).

I pulled it apart a little and ended up LOVING the result. First I used my Grandmothers Pie Crust Recipe.

2 sticks butter, 2 cups flower, 4 tbls ice cold water – don’t you just love the recipes you memorize off the top of your head?

I used the filling from the original recipe but then instead of using their traditional meringue I used and Italian Meringue recipe. For those of you that have never made and Italian meringue your life is going to change. A traditional meringue you have to make on a perfect day, with the perfect humidity, and hope all the moons align in order for your meringue to get nice and tall and fluffy (it often falls down or never gets fluffy at all). However tada! If you use an Italian Method it creates the same tall fluffy consistency by using sugar and water and getting it to a soft candy stage on your candy thermometer. I first used this method while trying to figure out how the heck you make french macaroons. Try this recipe here.

Works perfect! Look at that height – and it never fell either it stayed that way.

If you are making these for a party there are a couple things you can do ahead. First you can roll out your crust and bake them in your tins a day in advance. You can also make your lemon curd and hold in the fridge a day in advance. Then all you have to do is make your meringue and assemble the day of your party. They are the best when you make them a couple hours ahead so they have time to chill back down.

Also you will notice here that we used a larger tart tin vs the recipe calling for a mini muffin tray. Both work wonderfully. I have done them both ways. The mini muffin tray is nice for a standing cocktail appetizer house because they are more bit size.

They were a delight – and a huge hit! You should try them sometime.