Meringue Lime Coconut Tartlets

 I usually get ideas from walking around the supermarket and seeing what's on sale. Haha, I don't like to pay full price unless necessary. I saw a sale for a bag of 6 limes, so I thought this week, I'll make some new recipes with lime! I just love the smell of freshly squeezed lime too! We also had a huge bag of Thinsters Coconut Cookies from Costco. They are delicious, but of course I was thinking of ways I could use them as a crust. Thus, the following tartlets were created. One of the best parts about this recipe is that you can prepare the separate parts in advance if you are busy. When you are ready to serve them, then assemble and enjoy!

Meringue Lime Coconut Tartlets

Makes 8 tartlets

Ingredients

for the meringue tops:

• 2 egg whites (save the 2 egg yolks for the lime curd in a separate bowl)
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

for the crust:

• 1 cup Thinsters coconut cookie crumbs (I crushed 30 cookies in a ziplock bag; you can use other coconut cookies as long as you have enough for 1 cup of crumbs)
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup almond flour

for the lime curd:

• 2 egg yolks (reserved from before)
• 1/4 cup of lime juice (juice of 2 limes)
• zest of 1/2 lime
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons of unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/2 tablespoon of butter

Directions:

for the Meringue tops:

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.

Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Put the 2 egg whites, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Mix with a whisk attachment on low/medium speed until foamy.

Turn speed to high. I put my stand mixer on speed 8.

Using a tablespoon, scoop sugar and slowly add to the bowl of the stand mixer.

Add an additional scoop of sugar every 20 seconds. Stop the mixer halfway, and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Beat on high until the meringue has become glossy and stiff. (See below picture for example of a glossy peak. The meringue mixture should not be soft and drippy.)

Using a large star shaped tip and a piping bag, pipe the meringue onto the prepared cookie sheet. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the tray to pipe. (See picture below for meringues on tray.) The meringue tops will be approximately 1.5 inch wide.

Bake on 225 F for 1 hour. Turn off the oven. Leave the tray inside the oven for 1 hour. Do not open the oven door during that hour. Allow the meringue tops to cool in the oven and get crisp.

After, store the meringue tops in a sealed container at room temperature. Makes 35 meringue tops. You can save 8 for the tartlets and eat the rest or share. :)

For the lime curd:

Whisk the 2 reserved egg yolks, 1/4 cup lime juice, lime zest, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a pinch of salt in a small pot. 

Put pot over low/medium heat and whisk for 5-6 minutes until mixture looks thickened.

Take off heat, and add 3 tbs of coconut milk and 1/2 tablespoon butter. Whisk until combined.

Put in a covered container and store in refrigerator. Can save for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.

For the coconut crust:

After the meringue tops are done cooling in the oven and are removed, preheat oven to 350 degree F.

Mix the coconut cookie crumbs, the melted butter, and 1/4 cup almond flour in a bowl.

In a 12 cup tartlet pan or muffin tin, press a tablespoon of the crumb mixture into the bottom of 8 of the cups.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Let cool in pan for 20 minutes and cover pan with foil and refrigerate for at least an hour. Can refrigerate for up to a week.

When you are ready to serve the tartlets, remove the crusts from the pan with a small spatula or fork. Spoon about a teaspoon of the cooled lime curd onto each of the crusts. Place the cooled meringue tops on each tartlet. The sweet crisp meringue combined with the zingy lime curd and buttery coconut crust are ready! Enjoy!

Make sure your egg whites can stand in a stiff glossy peak for the meringue.

Piped meringue on baking tray