Lil' Lemonade Pies

I love lemon! I am the girl that sucks on my lemon wedge...so good!  And lemonade is possibly one of my favorite non-alcoholic drinks.  So when I saw the idea for Luscious Lemonade Pie Cookies at Cocinanda Con Alena, I had to give this a try.  I wanted to make this my own, so I did the lemon curd and the pie crust from scratch. 

This is so great for all you summer parties!  My favorite is the fact it is pie and finger food; makes it perfect for BBQs but more elegant than your basic brownies or cookies.  I totally recommend this hit for 4th of July; you will be a rockstar!

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Lemon Curd

7tbsp Lemon Juice

4tsp Lemons Zest

1cup Sugar

2tbsp Cornstarch

6tbsp Water
6 egg yolks

1/2cup Butter - cut into small pieces

Pie Crust

2cups Flour

2/3cup Shortening

1/2tsp Salt

6tbsp Water

Egg Wash
1 Egg
1tbsp Water

Extra Sugar to sprinkle

First you are going to make the lemon curd. Mix your sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, and lemon juice; heat in pan over medium heat until blended and bubble.  Meanwhile, place egg yolks in a bowl and lightly mix; add half of your lemon mixture to yolks, stir and return mixture back to the pan.  Mix and cook over medium heat just until it begins to boil.  Lower heat and cook 2 more minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add butter, one pieces at a time, stirring until melted.  Cover the lemon curd with plastic wrap, pressing it down against the curd.  Chill for one hour. 

Now your pie crust; you can use any pie crust recipe you would like; I used this one from Better Homes and Gardens.  Just be sure to make the double crust with whatever recipe you do use.

Once you have your pie crust all rolled out; spread with your lemon curd over half (or one if you rolled it out in two).  Give a generous layer on there; you want to taste that lemon curd.  And yes, this is going to be a little messy putting these together.   Next, place your other rolled pie crust over the top or fold in half.  

Messy time!  Take your round cookie cutter and push down through both layers; before lifting up the cutter, take a butter knife and use the handle side to push down the edges all the way around.  Lift cutter.  Repeat until all is cut out.  Pull away the in-between stuff and place your lil' pies onto a greased cookie sheet. Coat each pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.  Cut small X into top of each pie.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350.  Check every 7 minutes if you are compulsive like me and have a crazy oven.  Remove from oven and cool.  Bring to party and have everyone talk about how amazing them and you are!