Recipes

Lemon Meringue Cookies

Brighten your day with zesty lemon meringue cookies. Bursting with fresh lemon zest and juice, layered with fluffy, cloud-like meringue and baked to golden perfection, irresistibly light, delightfully tangy, and ready to melt in your mouth.

Ingredients

For the cookies

120g unsalted butter, softened
100g caster sugar
1 medium egg yolk (reserve the white)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
180g plain flour
20g cornflour
½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

For the filling

150-180g good quality ready-made lemon curd

For the meringue topping

3 egg whites (including the reserved white)
150g caster sugar
½ tsp cream of tartar or a few drops lemon juice
½ tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C Circulaire and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
In the Smeg stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in the egg yolk, vanilla and lemon zest.
Add the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt and mix briefly until a soft dough forms, then roll into balls and place on the tray, slightly flattening each one.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until just set and pale golden underneath, then immediately press a small well into the centre of each cookie using the back of a spoon.
Spoon a small amount of lemon curd into each cookie centre and allow to cool and set.
In a heatproof bowl, gently warm the egg whites and sugar over a bain-marie until the sugar dissolves, then whip using the Smeg hand mixer with cream of tartar until thick, glossy stiff peaks form, finishing with vanilla.
Pipe or spoon the meringue onto each cookie and lightly toast with a kitchen torch (or briefly under the Smeg grill) until lightly caramelised.