Lemon Meringue Pie Parfaits
Pssst. Remember me? I’ve been gone for a bit, but I’m back. I more or less took the Summer off because let’s be honest, you and I… who the heck wants to turn the oven on and do something like bake a loaf of bread, or make cookies or cupcakes, or things like that, when it’s 90 degrees outside? With my being primarily a baking blog, it made more sense to just rehash some delicious old stuff on my facebook page and wait out the heat. BUT… I couldn’t wait anymore. I missed all of you!! But I still can’t bring myself to turn on the oven, because Summer won’t take the %$#$%$%@ hint and go away. It’s 87 degrees outside as I type and our ancient, senile AC is whimpering trying to keep the house cool.
So, since I just HAD to come back (did I mention that I missed all of you!?), I played around with a nice cool, refreshing type of dessert. It uses mascarpone cheese and lemon curd as well as cream; three of my favorite ingredients. Add in a touch each of vanilla extract and lemon oil along with some crushed meringue cookies and there you have it (I also used some raspberries in here just because I wanted some color, but we’ll call that optional, if only because my brother has accused me of not being able to make a recipe with less than 12 ingredients :-P. This is so easy you could have your kids make it for a treat. It’s cool and refreshing, but don’t just relegate this to the hot months. I plan on enjoying this one this Winter, too. I made this in small glasses glasses, but you could also do these in tiny “shooter” glasses.
You know the drill… get to cookin’!
Simple Lemon Meringue Pie Parfaits
- 8 ounce container of mascarpone cheese, room temp
- 2/3 cup good quality lemon curd (I used Trader Joes brand; it’s the closest to homemade I’ve found)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped to firm peaks
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil or lemon extract
- 1 container vanilla meringue cookies (I can’t say ounces, because they vary. Plan on using about 20 cookies)
- 1/2 cup fresh raspberries (optional)
- In a small bowl, fold together the mascarpone, lemon curd and extracts until no streaks of white remain
- Carefully fold in the whipped cream; again until no streaks of white remain.
- Cover bowl and chill for about an hour.
- In small glasses, layer the lemon mixture, then a layer of coarsely crushed meringue cookies, then about 3 raspberries if you’re using them. Repeat the layers until you reach the top of the glass (small glasses will be about 2 layers).
- Chill until ready to serve. Garnish with a layer of crushed meringue cookie and a raspberry or two. Also, if you want the cookie to be a crisp layer, serve immediately after assembling, because they will soften up as these chill.
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Lemon Meringue Pie Parfaits
