Mini Lemon Meringue Pies!

Another fresh squeezed lemon recipe from Somewhat Simple!

Easy Pie Crust Recipe + Mini Lemon Meringue Pies 

MARCH 13, 2015 by SARAH 

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Crisco. All opinions are my own and 100% genuine, 
based on my experience with the product/company. 

All my life I’ve used an oil crust recipe, because it was, in my mind, easier. But since it’s National #PiDay, I decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone.

You guys. This Classic Pie Crust recipe from Crisco is seriously so easy! And so much tastier + flakier than my go-to recipe. I’ve officially converted over. #CriscoKnowsPie

I think huge part of why this was easier was because of the Crisco Baking Sticks. It’s like the best thing ever created. I’ve never used them before, but they are, in fact, fantastic and make my pie-making-life so much easier! Boo-yah.

EASY PIE CRUST 
(single crust recipe or 12 mini crusts)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 stick chilled Crisco Baking Stick (I used the butter flavor)
• 3-6 Tbs cold water

So, I’ve always stayed away from these butter type crusts, because I didn’t have a pastry blender, or pastry cutter. I always thought you needed one or the other.  I have NO idea why I thought that. Because you actually don’t need a blasted thing. You can use your HANDS. (This is the part where I beg you to wash them with soap first)  And this is also especially convenient when you realize that you forgot to start the dishwasher the night before and all your forks are dirty. Not that this was the case for me… *cough*

DIRECTIONS:

1. Blend flour + salt in a bowl.

2. Cut up 1/2 of the Baking Stick into cubes.

3. With your hands or, if you’re the lucky type, the pastry blender or cutter (or even a fork – but I found my hands were the easiest), combine the ingredients until the dough resembles crumbs:

4. Stir (or massage) in just enough water until the dough holds together. (I only needed the 3 Tbs.) You should be able to create a smooth ball that doesn’t fall apart.

5. Shape dough into a ball and chill for at least 30 min.

6. Roll out the dough on a floured surface (I’ve always used the wax paper method, and this was hands down easier!). Now, if you’re making a regular pie, you want it to be 2 in. wider than your pie plate. But since I was making mini pies, I just rolled the dough out a little thinner than I would normally. Using a large cup, I cut out circles, then placed them in my muffin tins, not caring about where the creases ended up:

7. The single pie crust recipe made 12 mini pies. I then pricked the bottoms with a butter knife, because the dishwasher wasn’t done yet. *Ahem*

8. Bake your mini crusts in the lower third of the oven, at °425 F, for 8-12 minutes, or until lightly golden.

9. Pull them out (I adored how nicely they just popped out!), and place on a cookie sheet to cool.

And now for the filling. At this point, you could just add your favorite pie filling, cut a slice of banana and add some pudding, top with whipped cream, etc, but I had some lemons that were screaming to be made into mini lemon meringue pies. Screaming. 

They do sell lemon pie filling in a can, but I’m a homemade lovin’ type of gal, so I made my own lemon filling + meringue (similar recipe here). When I had it all ready to go, I filled the mini pie crusts with the filling, then topped with the meringue. I just picked them up and ‘frosted’ them like a cupcake, making sure the meringue touched the edges of the pies crust to seal in the filling.

Bake at °350 F for about 15 min, or until the meringue is golden brown. Cool Completely and enjoy!

I love mini pies. All that’s required to eat them are your hands (and the occasional napkin), it saves you from dirtying more dishes, and you don’t need a fork.

Because, you know. Sometimes you forget to start the dishwasher.  And that’s ok. 

Recipe shared by Robin.