Summer Dessert Week Begins! - Mini Lemon Meringue Pies #SummerDessertWeek

Welcome to the 2nd Annual #SummerDessertWeek event hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife. This sweet week-long event is filled with fun dessert recipes from amazing bloggers and some great giveaways from our generous sponsors! We can't wait to share all of these summer-themed desserts with y'all and celebrate summertime sweets all week long!

Whenever I am tasked with figuring out a new recipe, I always think: "what could make an awesome thing even better?" And what I usually decide, is that making it smaller is the best way to do that.

Think about it--no utensils or even plates are required for these tiny little pies! Three bites and you're done and ready for another. With a homemade vodka crust, it's just the cherry (or lemon?) on top for an awesome recipe.

But before we get to that--check out the prizes!!

There are 23 wonderful bloggers participating in this year’s event! With over 60 recipes being shared this week we just know that you’re going to find a new summer favorite! Plus, don’t forget that we have 5 (five) great giveaways for you this week too! Scroll down to take a look!

PRIZE #1

 

Prize #1 — Dixie Crystals is giving away one (1) Instant Pot (8 Qt) to one lucky winner!

 

PRIZE #2

Prize #2 — Adam’s Extract is giving away - One bottle of Adams Best Vanilla Flavor, Adams Best Prize Winning Pound Cake Mix, Adams Extract Twice as Stong Vanilla and Adams Extract Lemon Extract

 

PRIZE #3

Prize #3– Red Star Yeast is giving away a gift pack including an Insulated Tote Bag, Apron, “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” Cookbook, Yeast, Rolling Pin, Measuring Spoons, Oven Mit and Dish Towel

 

PRIZE #4

Prize #4 — Susquehanna Glass Co. is giving away one set (4 glasses) of Mermaids Stemless Wine Glasses. (like the Mermaid glasses you'll see in some of our recipes this week!)

PRIZE #5

Prize #5 — Lodge Cast Iron is giving away one (1) 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet.

Check out the amazing #SummerDessertWeek recipes from our bloggers today!

Ice Cream Recipes:

• Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Bites from Big Bear's Wife
• No Churn Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream from Pastry Chef Online
• Green Tea Ice Cream from Mildly Meandering

  Pies of Summer:

• Mini Lemon Meringue Pies from Forking Up
• Lemon Lavender Chess Pie from The Spiffy Cookie

  Sweet Summertime Cakes:

• Cinnamon Oatmeal Cake from The Food Hunter's Guide To Cuisine

  No-Bake Treats:

• Lemon Chiffon Raspberry Parfait from Desserts Required
• S'mores Mousse Parfaits from Daily Dish Recipes
• Strawberry Pretzel Salad Parfaits from 4 Sons 'R' Us
• No-Bake Coconut Cream Pie In A Jar from A Southern Soul

  Baked Desserts:

• Strawberry Glazed Donut Bites from Eat Move Make
• Mixed Berry Fruit Pizza from The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Strawberry Cake Donuts from The Beard and The Baker
• Lemon Doberge Squares from Southern From Scratch
• Mini Blueberry Galettes from Me and My Pink Mixer
• Chocolate Churros from My Sweet Zepol
• Key Lime Fudge from The Domestic Kitchen
• Chocolate Strawberry Eclairs from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars from A Blender Mom
• Sweet Tea Bread Pudding from Sweet ReciPEAs
• Cream Puffs from For the Love of Food

  Sweet Sips:

• Cherry Lime Bellini from Comfortably Domestic
• Strawberry Lassi from Shockingly Delicious

 

Mini Lemon Meringues

for the crust

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed
• 3 tbsp cold water
• 3 tbsp vodka
• 1 cup ice

for the filling

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 lemons, juiced and zested
• 2 tbsp butter
• 4 egg yolks

for the meringue

• 4 egg whites
• 1 pinch cream of tartar
• 6 tbsp white sugar

Prep: Grease 12 muffin tins with butter. Silicone muffin cups work well for this, too.

Crust: Pour vodka and water over the cup of ice. In a food processor, pulse together butter, flour, sugar, and salt until coarse crumbs form. Slowly drizzle in the water/vodka (don't let the ice cubs fall in!) until a thick dough forms. Note: you may not use all the liquid. Remove from food processor and form into a thick disk. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.
After fully chilled, roll out on a floured surface until 1/4" thick. Use a glass that is slightly larger than your muffin tin wells in diameter to cut out circles. Press into greased muffin tins, making sure to release any air bubbles underneath. Prick with a fork and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool to room temp.

Filling: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Slowly whisk in in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until boiling. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and temper in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into sugar mixture. Bring to a boil again, stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Pour into each prepared pie crust, filling as much as you can.

Meringue: Whip egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form, then gradually add the sugar. Whip until stiff peaks form and then top each mini pie with the misture.

Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes, until the peaks of the meringue are just beginning to brown. Chill until ready to serve.

Now, for the Contest!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway open to US Residents 18 years or older. No PO Boxes Please. giveaway runs from July 9th until July 15th at 12AMEST. Winners will be selected soon afterward and contacted by e-mail. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. There are a total of 5 (five) prizes and therefore we will have a total of 5 (five) winners.

  Disclaimer: These posts and recipes are part of the week-long event, #SummerDessertWeek but all opinions are 100% mine! We would like to Thank our amazing sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Adam’s Extract, Red Star Yeast, Susquehanna Glass Co. and Lodge Cast Iron! These wonderful sponsors provided the prize packs for our giveaways and also sent samples and products to the #SummerDessertWeek bloggers to use in their recipes.