The *softest* lemon lemon meringue pie cookies, with a lemon brown sugar cookie, lemon curd & a torched swiss meringue.
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lemon meringue pie cookies
Hello hello! If you’re here today it’s probably because you’re a fan of lemon meringue pie and cookies which means I am a fan of you. These here are my lemon meringue pie cookies, aka, as you might guess, a combination of lemon meringue pie and cookies. They’re made with the softest lemon brown sugar cookie that just melts in your mouth, and they’re topped with zesty lemon curd and a torched swiss meringue.
Also another fun note – I always try my best to make sure you don’t end up with any extra egg whites or egg yolks, so I think you might be happy to hear that we use egg yolks for the curd and egg whites for the meringue so that there’s no extras. Now let’s get into the recipe! 🙂
why you’ll love these lemon meringue pie cookies:
- Lemon curd: it’s the perfect balance of zesty, tart, and sweet.
- The softest brown sugar cookie: these use my base brown sugar cookie recipe that you’ll see a few times on my blog, because it’s truly *so* delicious and perfect.
- Swiss meringue: not only does it create the prettiest swirl on top of the cookies, but swiss meringue is cooked so there’s no need to worry about consuming raw eggs.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before starting the recipe to give them time to come to room temperature.
How to get more flavor out of zest
It’s hard to put citrus juice into bakes because it can easily throw off the texture of the dough. So we’ll get lemon flavor into these cookies through the zest. To get even more flavor out of the zest, we’ll rub the zest into the sugar, which will release oils from the zest into the sugar and release more flavor into the dough.
try to avoid metal utensils when making the curd
It’s possible for the curd to take on a metallic taste if you are using a metal bowl or whisk, so to be safe I would recommend staying away from those when making the curd.
A quick note on the swiss meringue
It’s super important to make sure that no fat comes in contact with the meringue in order for it to whip up properly. That means making sure no egg yolk comes in contact with the egg white, and that the bowl you whip the meringue in is completely clean. If you want to make extra sure that your bowl is free from any fat, you can wipe it down on the inside with a bit of lemon juice before adding the egg whites into it.
Mix the dough carefully
When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Over mixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies thicker and more tough in texture.
Under bake for perfect cookies
Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. Once the edges turn slightly golden brown, and the cookies look just a little wet on top still, they are ready to come out. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
The secret to perfectly round cookies:
Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!
A note on oven temperature
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for lemon meringue pie cookies:
lemon sugar cookies:
- All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness. AP flour ranges from about 10-12% protein. If you use a flour closer to 10%, the cookies will be slightly less chewy. I use and love King Arthur Flour, which is 11.7% protein.
- Baking powder: for helping the cookies rise. Most baking powder is, but make sure your baking powder is “double acting.”
- Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
- Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies.
- Light brown sugar: for sweetness and for moisture.
- Lemon zest: the star of the show!
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Egg: for binding and for moisture.
lemon curd:
- Egg yolks: thickens up the curd.
- Granulated sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the curd.
- Lemon: we’ll be using both the zest and the juice for maximum flavor.
- Salt: like with the dough, a bit of salt helps with the flavor and sweetness of the curd.
- Unsalted butter: helps thicken the curd and make it creamy. You can substitute in salted butter here, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the curd.
swiss meringue:
- Egg whites: the base of the meringue.
- Granulated sugar: to sweeten the meringue and to help it whip up.
- Salt: for flavor.
- Corn starch: to thicken up and stabilize the swiss meringue.
- Vanilla: for flavor – you could also use lemon extract here or just add some lemon zest into the meringue if you want *even more* lemon flavor.
how to make lemon meringue pie cookies
Below are a few images of what the process of making these cookies looks like. As always you can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post.
- Start with the cookie dough – zest the lemon into the brown sugar, then use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar. Beat in the butter, followed by the egg and vanilla.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- Make the curd – add the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, egg yolks, and sugar to a small saucepan. Stir the mixture over medium heat until it thickens.
- Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve and mix it with the butter.
- Once the cookies have chilled, bake them.
- While the cookies cool off, make the swiss meringue. Frost the cookies with some swiss meringue and a swirl of lemon curd – then torch them, serve, and enjoy!
lemon meringue pie cookies recipe q&a
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – I’ve tested this recipe up to quadrupling it with no problem. Please be sure to use grams for the best results.
can I make these cookies ahead of time?
Definitely – cookie dough really only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough balls. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again. I would recommend waiting to make the frosting until you would like to bake and frost the cookies. The curd can also be made 2-3 days in advance and kept in the fridge, but I recommend waiting to make the meringue until you want to frost the cookies.
store the cookies in the fridge
Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They are delicious cold, but if you’re not a fan of cold cookies, you can let them sit out at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before eating them. Note that the meringue may start to “melt” after a day or two, so it’s really best to eat them asap! 🙂
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Lemon Meringue Pie Cookies
Ingredients
Lemon Sugar Cookies
- 150 g light brown sugar (¾ c.)
- zest of 2 lemons
- 90 g unsalted butter room temperature (6 ⅓ tbsp.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 160 g all purpose flour (1 ⅓ c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
Lemon Curd
- 28 g unsalted butter cubed (2 tbsp.)
- 65 g granulated sugar (¼ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 40 g lemon juice (~3 tbsp.)
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 egg yolks
- ⅛ tsp. salt
Swiss Meringue
- 2 egg whites
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. corn starch
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Add the brown sugar to a medium sized mixing bowl. Zest the lemons into the mixing bowl, then use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar.
- Add in the butter, then use a hand or stand mixer to beat the mixture together until it's light and fluffy (~2-3 min.)
- Add in the egg and vanilla, and beat until well combined (1 min.)
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together just until no flour streaks remain.
- Cover the bowl then place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. In the meantime, make the lemon curd.
Lemon Curd
- Prep a small mixing bowl by adding the cubed butter to it, along with a fine mesh sieve. Set aside.
- Add the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, egg yolks, and salt to a small saucepan.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly (this can be slowly – we just need constant movement happening!)
- Continue to stir the curd until it thickens and reaches a temperature of at least 170°F / 76°C.
- Remove the curd from the heat and pass it through the fine mesh sieve, over the butter. Mix the curd and the butter together until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Transfer the curd to the fridge to chill until you're ready to assemble the cookies.
- Once the cookies have chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone baking mat.
- Use a 3 tbsp. cookie scoop to dish out the cookies onto the prepared cookie sheet, evenly spacing them apart to allow room for spreading.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the sides of the cookies just start to turn golden brown, and the top of the cookies looks just slightly wet. Let the cookies rest on the hot baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
- While the cookies come to room temperature, make the swiss meringue.
Swiss Meringue
- Add the egg whites and sugar to a small saucepan. Set the mixture over medium heat and whisk it constantly until it reaches a temperature of 170°F / 76°C.
- Pour the egg mixture into a medium sized mixing bowl and add in the salt, corn starch, and vanilla. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to beat the mixture until stiff peaks form.
- Once the cookies have come to room temperature, top each of them with ~2 tbsp. of swiss meringue.
- Then, swirl some lemon curd into the swiss meringue on each of the cookies. The more of the meringue that's peeking through, the better you'll be able to torch the meringue.
- Use a culinary torch to torch the meringue on the cookies, then serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
These cookies were amazing! The cookie itself is absolutely delicious with a great flavor and texture.
I didn’t add the cornstarch to my Swiss meringue and it didn’t need it – I also made it in a double boiler since I thought the direct method was a bit risky. I did fin the lemon curd a bit runny for my taste so I had to make a dam with the meringue to contain it.
Would make these again!
Thank you so much Maria, I’m so happy you liked them! ☺︎
These cookies are amazing!! Tried with lime curd, as well as lemon curd.
Thank you so much! I’ll have to try these with lime curd as well, that sounds delicious! 🙂
Hi there the granulated sugar says room temperature next to it did you mean the egg whites? Thank you
Hi, thank you so much for letting me know! Neither the egg whites or sugar need to be room temperature for the meringue 🙂
Question… the lemon curd recipe says zest of one lemon, but then has 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp next to it. Is that an error? Seems like a lot of zest?
Hi Jeanette – you’re right! That measurement should not have been next to the zest & has been fixed. Thank you! 🙂