So, remember that simple lemon curd I posted recently? Well, here is the first of hopefully many, delicious, lemony recipes I’ll be posting in the future. I was originally going to use a sugar cookie recipe for the base of this (and I still might try it!) but then, I was just a little bit concerned about how sweet it would be and if the cookie part would overtake the tart flavor of the lemon so I elected to make mini pie cups instead.
Don’t you just LOVE lemon meringue pie …
and lemon sponge pie …
and lemon cookies …
and lemon everything?
These little treats are kind of like large cookies but kind of like small pies. They are made with a strong gluten-free crust and filled with the lemon curd that’s been made ahead of time. The cups need to be baked, in a mini muffin tin, bare naked, with no filling in them, so you can use the handle of something to make the cup part. The crust really doesn’t puff up much at all so the indent remains really well.
What I did for the crust is divide the dough into 14 equal balls and placed them into the mini muffin tin. Then I pressed each of the balls into a cup making sure the edges came up and over the top of the tin muffin hole. This will account for any shrinkage as it bakes. Bake in a 350˚ oven for about 20 minutes or until the edges are firm and just lightly browned.
Once the cup part is baked and cooled, fill the centers with lemon curd and top with the meringue. The broiling part works best when the cookie and filling is chilled because you’ll need to put it into the oven briefly to toast the meringue topping. While this seems a little scary … I mean, broiler … high heat … tender meringue … if you never leave it or look away from the cookies under broiler, it will be fine!
Preheat your oven to broil (hi) and watch closely. Take them out as soon as they are golden brown on top, turning as needed and cool completely. They will keep for 5-7 days in the refrigerator, if no one eats them sooner!
A few notes:
• This recipe is a compilation of three different components – my gluten-free pie crust, simple lemon curd and a meringue topping. Assembly instructions are in the blog post!
• The recipe for the gluten-free pie crust can be found here!
• The recipe for the lemon curd can be found here!
- ½ cup egg whites (3-4 eggs)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- pinch of salt
- Whip egg whites to soft peaks.
- While continuing to whip, sprinkle sugar and salt slowly into the egg whites.
- Add vanilla and mix well.
- Continue whipping to stiff peaks.