I love having special little treats at each place setting for our family's Easter dinner. This year I decided to capitalize on a recent fascination of mine and incorporate meringue into the mix. Jo challenged me to make the meringues shaped like miniature Easter baskets, and I happily accepted the challenge. And the result is so cute I can hardly stand it.

Because I wanted my mini meringue baskets to be uniform in size, I first made a template. I used the base of a pint glass to trace circles onto a sheet of parchment paper, then put the parchment pencil-side-down onto a baking sheet.

Then I made a batch of meringue using Pretty Simple Sweet's recipe, and whipped it to nice stiff peaks.

I put the meringue into a disposable icing bag fitted with a #18 star tip and got to work. I created the basket base by making a big swirl of meringue within my drawn outline.

Next I worked on the basket sides, starting with a row of semi-circles of meringue.

Then I added another row on top of that, making sure the semi-circles didn't exactly line up with the ones on the row below it.

I kept going until I had four rows, which was as high as I thought it could handle it and still be stable. Then I topped it off with a solid swoosh of meringue all the way around.

Those simple semi-circles look just like basket weave!

To make the handles, I followed the same outlines on my parchment, and overlapped s-shaped swirls of meringue until I had a handle shape.

Make sure you make plenty of extra handles in case some break. I actually made an whole extra sheet of handles, just to be on the safe side.

And one more tip: Work quickly and make these as fast as you can. The meringue will start out beautifully stiff and glossy, but will lose its shape a little over time, so the faster you work, the more definition your basket weave will have.

I baked the baskets and handles according to the recipe, and then it was time to assemble. To attach the handles to the basket, I first very carefully stuck a half toothpick into one end of the handle, twisting it gently to keep from breaking the handle.

Then I stuck the other end of the pick into the base of the basket.

I filled each basket with some mini candy-coated chocolate eggs and they were ready for the table.

I am totally in love with these mini meringue Easter baskets! And when my family found out they were edible treats, they could hardly believe it.