Mini Lemon Meringue Pies (2024)

ByCaroline Lindsey First published onApril 24, 2017July 5, 2021 Last updated onJuly 5, 2021

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These bite-sized mini lemon meringue pies are a charming and adorable dessert for a springtime or Mother’s Day tea party!You canuse homemade or store-bought lemon curd. Visit the Afternoon Tea homepage here.

Hi y’all! Spring is here, Mother’s Day is around the corner, and it’s a great time to make bright, fresh, fruity desserts. Especially ones with lemon.

Recently I made some Meyer lemon curdand boy, that stuff is freakin’ delicious. I could eat it by itself and die happy.

But you may want something to do forMother’s Day or another springtime gatheringthat’s a little more elegant and fun than handing your mom a jar of lemon curd and a spoon.

Enter: these minilemon meringue pies.

Seriously, is there anything cuter?

The best part about these bite-sized desserts is you can make most of this in advance. You can cut and bake the mini pie shells and make the lemon curd days ahead. Then the day of all you have to do is spoon in the curd, whip up and pipe the meringue, and pop them in the oven for FOUR MINUTES.

Seriously, that’s it. Because the curd is already cooked and thickened, so all you really have to do is toast the meringue.

They were good the next day too!

Just to warn you, these things are addictive. I made a dozen of these and Mike downedthem like popcorn until half of them were gone.

I personally am not a huge pie person – if I make a pie I’ll eat a slice and then forget about it. A slice of pie is too much of a commitment for me. You have to take out the pie, get a knife and a plate and a fork…

Hungry for more? Check out this collection of even moredelicious uses for lemon curd!

This recipe makes about two dozen mini lemon meringue pies, but here’s my idea – if you’rehosting an afternoon tea and you’re trying to getsome extravariety without having extra work, do this:

Make these mini pie shells (makes about two dozen).
Make a double batch of my small-batch lemon curd.
Use half the curd and half the pie shells to make a dozen of these mini lemon meringue pies.
Use the other half of the lemon curd on some orange cardamom sconesor your scones of choice.
Use the other half of the pie shells to make some jam and brie tartlets, mini quiches, or another type of mini pie.

Voila! You get double duty out of both the lemon curd and the pie shells. I guarantee it’ll be a hit!

To maketwo dozen bite-sized lemon meringue pies, make the full recipe as written below.

Like these mini lemon meringue pies? Try these recipes too!

Mini pecan pies
Bite-sized jam and brie tartlets

Did you make this recipe?

Tag me in a photo on Instagram @pinchmeimeating and I may feature you in my IG stories! I’d love to see how yours came out!

4.70 from 13 votes

Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

These bite-sized mini lemon meringue pies are a charming and adorable dessert for a springtime or Mother's Day tea party! You can use homemade or store-bought lemon curd.

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Course: Afternoon tea, Dessert

Ingredients

For the pie shells

▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
▢ 4 tbsp cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
▢ 1 egg yolk
▢ 1 tbsp ice water

For the pies

▢ 1/2 cup lemon curd homemade or storebought
▢ 2 egg whites
▢ 1/4 cup white sugar

Instructions

For the pie shells

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the butter into the flour using your fingertips, a fork, or a pastry cutter, until the mixture resembles wet sand with a few pea-sized pieces. You can also put flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until it’s the right consistency.
Add the egg yolk and the water all at once, then stir to combine to form a stiff dough. If the mixture doesn’t hold together, add more water 1 tsp at a time until dough does not crumble. Knead gently.
Roll dough out thinly on a lightly floured surface and use a 2-inch fluted cookie cutter to cut out as many circles as you can (should make about two dozen).
At this point, you can make these now or save the pastry for later, placing a small piece of parchment paper or wax paper in between each dough circle. Wrap the stack in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze. If you are using the dough at a later time, soften until pliable before proceeding to the next step.
Press each circle into a mini muffin tin, making sure there's a bit of a lip around all edges to hold in your fillings. Chill for 30 minutes before baking.
Fill each tartlet shell with a small ball of aluminum foil. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, removing foil halfway through to allow to brown. You can store the pre-cooked pie shells unrefrigerated in a sealed plastic bag for a day or two before filling, if desired.

For the pies

Set the oven to broil.
Fill each pie shell with about 1 tsp lemon curd.
In a medium glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar 1 tbsp at a time and continue to beat until peaks are stiff.
Spoon meringue into a piping bag with a decorative tip and pipe onto pies, if desired, or simply spoon meringue on top of mini pies and swirl with the back of a spoon to make a nicely textured surface.
Broil in the oven for about 4 minutes or until meringue is golden brown on top.

Notes

For the easiest day-of preparation, make pie shells and lemon curd up to several days in advance.

If you don’t want to end up with an extra egg yolk, just throw anextra yolk in when you make your lemon curd. As a bonus, it will end up even thicker which is great for a pie filling!

If you want more (variety) bang for your (labor) buck, save half the pie shells for jam and brie tartlets,mini quiches, or another type of mini pie, and save half the lemon curd to use with scones like these cardamom orange scones. Halve the meringue ingredients.

Tried this recipe?Mention @pinchmeimeating or tag #pinchmeimeating on Instagram!

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