Lemon Meringue Pie Cookies

Soft lemon brown sugar cookies topped with lemon curd and a torched swiss meringue.

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.

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.

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!