Mini Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I have never made a lemon meringue pie.  I thought I'd give it a try last weekend at the request of my brother.  But we had a lot of people coming over for a barbecue.  It's not easy to serve a lemon meringue pie, and I didn't think one pie would be enough for that many people.

Cupcakes?  Self serve.  Mini cupcakes?  The perfect sized bite.

Mini Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
from How Does She?

Adjustments I made from the original recipe:

• I did not use cupcake liners.  There weren't any mini ones at the grocery store, and I really don't like to use excess paper products.  I borrowed a seriously non-stick mini cupcake pan from my mom and they popped right out, no problem.  
• I did not use a food processor to pulse the lemon peel and sugar together.  Instead I zested the lemons completely and just mixed it with the sugar.  The filling turned out just fine this way.  
• I only baked the cupcakes for 15 minutes.  My oven is always quicker than what recipes say.  Check on your cupcakes after 10 and 15 minutes to see if they are done.  
• I put holes in the center of the cupcakes after they cooled to pipe in the lemon filling.  To do this I used the long end of one of those pour tops they put on liquor (or olive oil) bottles.  It's the best option I had.  
• If you choose to put your finished cupcakes under the broiler, do not leave the oven and check every 30 seconds to avoid burning the tops.  I left mine in for one minute and any longer would have been too much.