Key Lime Pie Sugar Cookie Cups

We took Autumn for her first swim class on Sunday. OMG! So adorable!!!

It was a blast. She’s in a class with a few other babies all under 18 months. Although she’s the youngest in the class, as we signed her up for right when she cleared the 6 months requirement, she did just fine in the water. Autumn enjoyed floating around while I supported her. We didn’t blow bubbles like some of the other kids but she splashed around to the ‘Wheels on the Bus’ just fine. The best part was that we got to put rubber duckies in the pool in front of the babies and when they splashed and kicked we would walk them closer to the duck. She was so determined to get the duck (and then shove into her mouth) she was splashing like crazy. So cute!!

And then when we were coming back from the dog park on Memorial Day I felt that Autumn was cutting a tooth. Oh my… I can’t handle this!!! Time needs to slow down!!

Since time seems to be escaping me at a rapid pace, I wanted to make a pie that would be quick to pull together. I’m already quite lazy and often buy store bought crusts so I wanted to change things up so I began to think about using something else as part of the crust. I have already done chocolate chip cookie crust so I was thinking of a sugar cookie crust.

Look I know that limes are cray pricy now but I was able to make this recipe with just 6 limes. And I can still find limes for 50 cents each so I think $3 in limes is not gonna break the bank.

If you don’t like lime flavor, a lemon curd would work nicely as well. I love lemon curd. Give me a jar and a spoon any day. Yum!

The most important thing to keep in mind when making this is that you should NOT put much pressure into forming the pies when you are using the spoon to make the cup shape. If you make the sides or the bottom to thin then you will have difficulties removing the cups from the muffin tin. Learn from my mistakes people!

Enjoy the weekend! And be sure to stop by next week as it’s the start of June and I’m focusing on Chess Pies for June!

Key Lime Pie Sugar Cookie Cups

Makes 24 mini pies

Ingredients

• 1 16 oz roll of sugar cookie dough, or a package of pre-portioned cookies
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup key lime juice (regular limes will work as well)
• 1 (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk can
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 Cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• lime zest for garnish

Process

To prepare the sugar cookie cups

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the mini muffin pans by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Roll 24 even sized dough balls and place in the bottom of each muffin tin.
3. Bake the cookies for 6 minutes and then rotate the pan(s) in the oven for even cooking. Bake for another 6-8 minutes, or until golden brown  (cooking time can depend on pan material).
4. Remove cookies from oven and very gently press a spoon in the center of each baked cookie to make the shape of the cup. There will already be a cup like shape but you are just making this lightly more defined. If you over press at this point you might have difficulties removing the cups from the pan.
5. After 10 minutes, gently run a knife around the cookie cups and then remove them from the muffin pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.

To prepare the filling:

1. Whisk together the egg yolks, lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract.
2. Pour the mixture into a medium sized pot. Continuously whisk the mixture over medium to low heat to cook through the eggs, about 12-14 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. (If you are pressed for time then pour into a bowl, and place in your freezer for 30-40 mintues. Stir every 5-10 minutes.)

To make the whipped cream:

1. Combine the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer,or a large bowl.
2. Beat until the whipped cream is formed, you want to see still peaks.

 To assemble to mini pies

1. Spoon or pipe the key lime curd filling into the center of the cookie cups.
2. Top the curd off with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of lime zest.
3. Refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving.

Slightly adapted from Grandbaby Cakes