These delicious and adorable pies are great for a crowd!
Ingredients:
Min Pie Shells (I used frozen ones but you can make them yourself)
For the Filling:
*If not using lemon cook and serve pudding*
One box of Vanilla Cook and Serve Pudding
1 can of Lemon Pie Filling
2 Lemons, juiced and zested
1-2 TSP Vanilla Extract
For the Meringue:
4 Egg Whites at Room Temp.
1/2 TSP Cream of Tartar
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
1/2 C White Sugar
Step 1:
Before making the filling, pull your pie shells out of the freezer and lay them out on a cookie sheet to thaw before baking.
Take your four eggs and separate them, let them sit so when you need them they will be room temperature.
Step 2: Making the filling
*If you have a lemon cook and serve pudding, feel free to make that instead and move on to the next step*
Start by making 1 mall box of vanilla cook and serve pudding and set it aside.
Take 1 can of lemon pie filling and put it in a bowl. With a hand mixer, whip it until it's all smooth.
Add the vanilla pudding to the lemon filling and combine.
Juice and zest 2 lemons and add that to your bowl along with 1-2 TSP of vanilla extract.
Set the lemon filling aside and well start on the rest of our pies,
*Don't put the filling in the fridge, we want it semi warm when we put the meringue on*
Step 3: Prepping the Pie Shells
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and pop your pie shells in until they are a light golden brown color. Don't let them get to dark because they will have to go back into the oven later.
Step 4: Making the Meringue
Start by mixing your egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla in a mixer until you have soft peaks forming.
Once you have soft peaks, add your sugar a TBSP at a time, mix in between every time you add sugar.
Once all your sugar is added, let it mix a little longer!
Make sure you have super stiff peaks! Once you have the desired texture, we can move on to assembling the pies.
Step 5: Assembling the Pies
Start by adding your lemon pie filling into a Ziploc bag, cut off a tiny tip and fill your pies to the top. Careful to not cut a big hole because the filling will come out really fast!
Add your meringue to a Ziploc or piping bag. I put a french tip on mine to make it look a little nicer.
Squeeze at the bottom, pull up really fast and you will get a nice little tip like this!
Step 6: Final Touches
Pop your pies in the oven one last time until the meringue is nice and golden. You can check to make sure it is cooked with a food thermometer.
These are best chilled but you can eat them any way you'd like. Enjoy!
The Outcome
I LOVED these! I took them to an activity and they were gone before I could get to them, good thing I had one before! They are pretty easy to make, they just take time. The meringue was light and fluffy and had a nice flavor. The flavors blended together so nicely. I'm definitely going to be making these again!
