Impossible Mini-Lemon Drop “Pies”

“Impossible Mini-Lemon Drop Pies” is a recipe which I have been saving for Spring. The little pastry “pops” provide a light ending to a special meal such as an Easter dinner. I paired the mini-lemon drop pies with strawberries and ice cream to make a satisfying dessert. And, I found Elmer’s Easter chocolate eggs for the sweets table. These “impossible” pies are so easy to make. They are based on the premise that all the ingredients are mixed up in one bowl. As the “pies” bake, the batter spreads out into a crust giving a decadent filling. Impossible! Well, unfortunately, it didn’t work out for my “pies.” They are more like a cupcake. However, these little pastries are very moist and they both sweet and slightly lemony tart. They don’t need an icing; powdered sugar dusted on top is plenty. My family especially liked the fresh strawberries and ice cream for serving that I added along with the mini-lemon pies.

Elmer’s Chocolates

Who says adults can’t enjoy a good Easter egg hunt. However, rather than hunting for Easter eggs, I am referring to hunting for Elmer’s Chocolates in grocery stores. If you live in South Louisiana, then you surely are familiar with Elmer’s chocolate candy. The chocolates are made at a candy factory about 45 minutes away from us here in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. The catch is that the candy is made only at certain holidays. Around Easter, these Gold Brick Eggs and as well as individually wrapped chocolate eggs appear in stores. They are a high quality chocolate and considered to be a “luxury” by any Louisiana native. Locating the chocolate eggs in stores can sometimes become a treasure hunt. I found this package of chocolate eggs about six weeks before Easter. Grab some while you can find them!

Recipe Inspiration

This recipe idea is something which randomly showed up on my Facebook feed. The recipe came from Ina Garten, celebrity television cook and author. I really don’t know alot about this “celebrity” cook — other than I used to believe she was hosting a gardening show. Wrong. Ina Garten’s recipe features sweetened condensed milk mixed with lemon juice, eggs, butter, vanilla extract and a little self-rising flour. The batter is poured into muffin tins making individual “pies.” The concept reminds me of the many recipes “back in the day” for making “Impossible Pies” using Bisquick. In these recipes, the instructions called for mixing the Bisquick with all the other ingredients then pouring them into a large pie pan. The mixture “set” and a pie crust was formed with the other ingredients colehessing to make the filling. Rather than Bisquick, this recipe uses self-rising flour and adds butter for flavor. I was eager to try Ina Garten’s recipe with a few of my own modifications. I liked the idea of a lemony, creamy center and a pie crust edge because I love lemon pies in any form.

Making the Recipe

This is certainly an easy dessert to make. It is a “one-bowl” recipe. To make the recipe, mix all the liquid ingredients in a large bowl. Then stir in the self-rising flour. By trial and error, I found that using a wire whip worked better for mixing the ingredients than a cook’s spoon or wooden spoon.

I like the idea of making mini-lemon drop “pies.” So, I used mini-muffin tins. (A person can also use standard size muffin tins.) Divide the batter evenly among the tins — I filled them to the top. Bake. They will puff up over the edges.

Let cool for about 10 minutes in the muffin tins. Then run a knife around the edges of each tin to carefully loosen each pastry and transfer to a wire rack.

These mini-lemon drop “pies” don’t need an icing. Simply sprinkle powdered sugar over the tops.

That’s it. The dessert is finished. So simple.

It is Spring! These little pastries are easy to mix up which is always a plus for making a “pie.” These little pies make great snacks, too. I found that we were literally “popping” them into our mouths as an aftenoon treat.

Strawberries ripen in March, April and May in Louisiana. The slight lemony flavor of these pastries mixed well with fresh strawberries. And ice cream.

And chocolate candy!

Enjoy this adaptation of Ina Garten’s recipe! Who knows what will next show up randomly on my Facebook feed. Loving springtime in Louisiana!