As you can probably tell from my various recipes, I really like lemon. Lemon cupcakes, lemon bars, lemon cookies…basically, if it has lemon in it I’ll try it! In honor of national pi(e) day I made these mini lemon chess pies. Unfortunately I missed the actual day by a month, but eh. *shrugs shoulders* Every day is pie day, right?!
Mmmmmmmmm. These mini pies are on point. Perfectly a mix of tangy and sweet, with a flaky and soft crust that melts in your mouth! Seriously, these little yummies were gone within minutes. I maybe should’ve made more? 😉
The crust recipe is adapted from Pampered Chef and I will probably never use another crust recipe again, because this one is PERFECT. It has the right texture and it’s quick and easy to make. Yum. The lemon filling recipe is adapted from Crazy for Crust…love her site!
- PIE CRUST:
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup solid coconut oil
- 3 TB cold butter
- 2-4 TB ice-cold water
- LEMON FILLING:
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 TB lemon zest (from 1 large lemon or 2 small)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup evaporated milk
- 1 TB all purpose flour
- Powdered sugar for topping, optional
- Combine flour and salt in large bowl; mix well. Cut coconut oil and butter into flour mixture using a pastry blender or fork until oil and butter resemble the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water over flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Repeat until mixture is moist enough to form a ball.
- Gather pastry into a ball; flatten to ½-inch thickness. Cover; refrigerate dough 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 mini muffin pans with cooking spray.
- Unroll your pie crusts and cut 2.5-inch circles with a cookie cutter or jar. Press each carefully into each mini muffin cavity. Re-roll dough as needed and chill until filling is ready.
- Whisk melted butter and sugar until smooth, then whisk in eggs until the mixture is a rich yellow, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the salt, lemon zest, vanilla, lemon juice, evaporated milk, and flour (one at a time) mixing until smooth.
- Fill each pie crust with 1 tablespoon of filling. You will have some filling left over (I usually just put mine in some creme brûlée cups and cook them on the side).
- Bake pies for 17-20 minutes until the tops are no longer wet. The crust will just be very lightly brown. Cool pies completely before removing from pans. They should pop out easily with a knife. Dust with powdered sugar before serving, if desired!
Thanks for reading! Are you a lemon lover? What are some of your go-to lemon recipes?
I am doing the 21 Day Fix right now and this looks so amazing! Might have to save this recipe for when I am done!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Oo, that’s awesome Missie! I did a little research on the 21 Day Fix and it looked great, but ended up doing the 30 Day Shred instead. I really like the plans (like 21 Day Fix) that focus on a more healthier lifestyle as opposed to the “lose weight fast” mentality.
Thank you. If you do try them out sometime, I hope you like! 🙂
These are so cute! And they look delicious!
Thank you, Chelsea! 🙂
These look great! Im just wondering if there is a substitute for the coconut oil? Or can i just use another pie crust recipe?
Yes, you can either replace the coconut oil with shortening or you can use your favorite pie crust recipe- any will work with this recipe. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog, Simone! 🙂
Again with the yummy-looking recipes. Like, this is getting so unfair. 😉 Thanks for sharing these, Bekah – they look fabulous! 🙂
Lol, thanks Rissi! I’m very grateful for your continued support of my blog. 🙂
These look amazing! I’m wondering if you store them
In the refrigerator or at room temperature? And about how many days do the keep? Looking forward to making these cuties and I might add a meringue topping!