Mini Lemon Tarts Recipe
Yummy mini lemon tarts are great to take along to a pot luck event. Tangy lemon with a dollop of delicious meringue, everyone will be so impressed!
Ingredients
Makes 24 mini muffin pan size tartsCrust
6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
12 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Filling
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind (lemon zest)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
Meringue
3 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Directions
Crust
In a mixing bowl,using an electric mixer on low to medium speed, beat together the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and salt until smooth.
Add the flour and mix gently until the dough is cohesive. Shape the dough into a one inch thick disk, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Filling
In a mixing bowl, stir together the lemon juice, zest and the sugar. Beat in the eggs, then the sour cream.
Assembly
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and rollout on on a floured surface into a circle 1/8” thick.
Using a 2 3/4 inch cookie cutter, cut out 24 circles, gathering the scraps and re-rolling the dough as necessary.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 24-cup mini-tart pan or mini-muffin pan. Transfer the dough circles to the cups of the pan, pressing into the corners and up the sides of each cup. Put enough filling into each of the tart shells until it nearly reaches the rim of the cup.
Bake the tarts for 28 to 30 minutes in the mini-tart pan, or 18 to 20 minutes in the mini muffin pan, until the crust turns golden and the filling has set. While they are baking you will prepare the meringue.
Meringue
Use an electric mixer to whisk egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, whisking well in between until dissolved. Once all the sugar has been added, continue to whisk on high for 3 minutes.
Once the tarts have baked almost their full time,open the oven, slide them out and dollop the meringue onto each one.
Put back into the oven and continue baking for 8-10 minutes, or until meringue is lightly browned.
Remove from the oven onto a cooling rack.
Let the tarts cool a few minutes, then run a sharp knife around the outside edge of the crusts to loosen each tart. Let tarts cool before removing from the pan to the cooling racks.