Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

I made these this weekend for our baby girl's first birthday.

Ingredients

• 1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup lemon curd (make your own in the microwave, recipe to follow)
• 2 egg whites
• 3 Tbls granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Coat a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine cookie dough and all purpose flour. Knead together until well blended.
4. Shape dough into one inch balls. Press cookie dough in bottom and up the sides of each muffin cup, forming cup shape.
5. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are just starting to turn golden brown.
6. Remove from oven and let cool for at least ten minutes before gently twisting to remove from pan. Place on rack and let cool completely.
7. Whip egg whites in a mixer bowl until foamy. Add sugar one tablespoon at a time, continuing to whip until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
8. Spoon lemon curd into cups. (If necessary, press the center of the cups down with your thumb before spooning in curd to create more space.)
9. Drop one tablespoon of meringue on top of the curd in each cup.
10. Place cups on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and place under the broiler just until tips of meringue start to show color. Remove immediately. (Watch these constantly. My broiler took 15 seconds to brown the meringue.)
11. Let cool for a few minutes before serving or store in refrigerator until ready.

Lemon Meringue Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• lemon zest from 3 lemons

Instructions

1. Melt butter in microwave, set aside to cool slightly.
2. Whisk together sugar and eggs in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl.
3. Whisk in lemon juice and zest.
4. Finally whisk in the butter.
5. Microwave on 50% power for one minute. Stir.
6. Continue microwaving at 100% power in one minute intervals, stirring after each interval until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. (The curd will thicken as it cools.)
7. Strain curd through a fine-mesh sieve to remove zest.
8. Pour curd into sterile jars and store for up to three weeks in the refrigerator.

This stuff is seriously so good, you'll be spreading it on toast, rolls, your finger....

These are easier then it seems, I promise and WELL worth it.  I have a super clingy baby right now and these can be whipped up pretty quickly.  They store great in the refrigerator to be eaten every 10 minutes until they are gone... oh, that's just me I guess.