Lemon Meringue Custards with Butter Cookies

I once said that my desk reminds me of my purse.  It is big and unorganized, hard to navigate and mostly holds things of importance.  As I sit here typing –at said desk, I spy a twelve-stack of cookbooks with notes and pieces of paper jutting out from every angle. Piles of printed-out recipes cover every square inch of surface area.  I have at least four-hundred & eleventy-two recipes composed, mapped-out, bookmarked and dreamed up for posting and booking,  and they all reside on this desk

I didn’t make any of those recipes today.

I can’t bear to relinquish one minute of my three-day weekend to the grocery store, so I’ve decided to work with what I have.  Today that is eggs, butter, sugar, flour and lemons.

Some of the best treats are unplanned.  This dessert is like lemon meringue pie with the crust served on the side.  Like me, you may choose to forgo the spoon altogether and opt for the cookie-shovel instead.

make a gif

Lemon Meringue Custards

Serves 4-6

Lightly adapted from desserts to give thanks for.                                                        [click to print]

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar for custard plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar for meringue

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice from 6-8 lemons)

3 eggs, whites and yolks separated, both reserved for use

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/4 cups cold water

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp vanilla

Custard:

Have four 6 oz. custard cups at the ready, or six 4 oz. custard cups.

In a medium saucepan whisk together 1 1/4 cups sugar, lemon juice, egg yolks, cornstarch and 1 1/4 cups water.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly.  After 7-10 minutes, the custard will start to thicken. Remove from heat when bubbles have disappeared and mixture is thick.  Stir in butter until melted. Divide between custard cups.  Chill in refrigerator while preparing the meringue.

Meringue:

The meringue is browned in the oven or with a kitchen torch.  If using the oven, go ahead and preheat to 400 degrees. Skip this step if using a kitchen torch.

Fill a medium saucepan 1/4 to 1/3 full of water and bring to a simmer.  Combine egg whites, remaining sugar, salt, cream of tartar and vanilla in a heat-proof glass bowl.  Have ready your hand mixer and a candy thermometer.  Place bowl over simmering water and beat with hand mixer on low speed until temperature reaches 160 degrees on the thermometer – this won’t take long!  Remove from heat and beat until stiff peaks form.

Remove custards from refrigerator and top with meringue.  Place on a baking sheet and brown meringue in oven for 6-8 minutes (keep a close eye on this) or brown with kitchen torch.

Serve at room temp. or chilled – delicious either way!

Butter Cookies

Yield: about 3 dozen 3″ cookies                                                                                               [click to print]

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened (3/4 lb.)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Generous pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together.  Don’t over mix!  Beat until just incorporated.  Add the vanilla and mix again briefly.  Sift together flour and salt and add to the butter mixture; mix on low until just combined.

Turn dough out onto a piece of wax paper and top with another sheet of wax paper. Roll into a flattened disk.  Chill for 30 minutes.  Dust work surface with flour and place dough – wax paper removed – on surface. Roll dough to 1/2″ thickness and cut into desired shapes – I used small round fondant cutters, the largest at 3″.  Place cookies on parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 15 minutes or until cookies are golden brown and fragrant.

Note:  If making small holes in the 3″ round cookies as I did, cut the smaller holes just after the cookies come out of the oven.

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Maris (In Good Taste)
Maris (In Good Taste)
12 years ago

What a delicious dessert! The presentation is so pretty!

Averie
Averie
12 years ago

This is beautiful!

And I love the little video/animation part…I read tons of blogs and ive never seen that anywhere. Very cool 🙂

And the toasted tops to the meringue…ooh-la-la. I love it!

Cooking With Abandon
Cooking With Abandon
12 years ago

Looks wonderful!

Suny Senabre
Suny Senabre
12 years ago

Una verdadera exquisitez de postre con una presentación preciosa. Me ha encantado.

Besos,

Anonymous
Anonymous
12 years ago

Love the animated photo! Those cookies are adorable. You always come up with such beautiful and creative posts, Heather 🙂

Jessica @ How Sweet
Jessica @ How Sweet
12 years ago

This sound perfect for summer. Love it!

Burnt Mill Candles and Soap
Burnt Mill Candles and Soap
12 years ago

love the animated photo. now I have a bad craving for lemon meringue 🙂

Jessica
Jessica
12 years ago

Looks so YUMMY
I'm a massive fan of lemon meringue! i made some lemon meringue cupcakes
http://devonshiregirly.blogspot.com/
X

Heather (Heather's Dish)
Heather (Heather's Dish)
12 years ago

i really can't imagine a more perfect summer dessert than anything lemony and creamy. this sounds like heaven!

Anonymous
Anonymous
12 years ago

These sound deadly! Love this!

Unknown
Unknown
12 years ago

Now you gone and added live action! I can't take anymore genius lady! Lovely creation.

Unknown
Unknown
12 years ago

Thank you so much for this! I have 2 lemon trees in full bloom and I think I'm going to have to whip this up today, although unfortunately that means a trip to the store for cream of tartar. Oh well, it sounds very worth it!

xo Mary Jo

Nicolette
Nicolette
12 years ago

This looks amazing! I love lemon desserts so refreshing in the summer time 🙂

cookies and cups
cookies and cups
12 years ago

So yummy! Those butter cookies are adorable and I am sure delicious 🙂

Rosa's Yummy Yums
Rosa's Yummy Yums
12 years ago

That is a heavenly dessert! I love lemon merigue pie, so this version is just up my alley. *drool*

Cheers,

Rosa

Lauren at Keep It Sweet
Lauren at Keep It Sweet
12 years ago

This is the most gorgeous dessert presentation! Everything you make I want to eat. I'd definitely use a cookie instead of a spoon:-)

Katherine
Katherine
12 years ago

Lemon desserts are my favorite and I love that I have almost everything in my pantry/fridge to make these right now – just missing cream of tartar! Know of any good substitutes? Gorgeous photos as always.

Unknown
Unknown
12 years ago

Beautiful. Just Beautiful. Lemons, shortbread and meringue. Just beautiful!

teri@thefreshmancook
teri@thefreshmancook
12 years ago

These are beautiful. I can't wait to make these. I think i have everything I need here at the house. How lucky(and unusually odd)is that!! love the animation. Also, Your desk sounds like mine looks. Thanks for a great post

Chaos In My House
Chaos In My House
12 years ago

Ahhh, it looks so delicious! Beautiful presentation. It is a delight to look at your creations.

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
12 years ago

Thanks all! For those asking about the cream of tartar – you could probably get away with leaving it out. It stabilizes the egg whites so they are extra fluffy. I've made meringue without it before.

Jocelyn
Jocelyn
12 years ago

Ok, this is a perfect looking summer dessert! Love how you decided to just make something with what is on hand…I make way to many trips to the grocery stores!!! Beautiful pics too:-)

Paula
Paula
12 years ago

Love your cookie shovel, love the video. Both the dessert and the presentation are so original!

Lindsey @ Hot Polka Dot
Lindsey @ Hot Polka Dot
12 years ago

I love this! Imagining desserts from new and interesting angles is always exciting to me.

Butter Hearts Sugar
Butter Hearts Sugar
12 years ago

Cookie shovels! love it! they look so delicious.

Misbah
Misbah
12 years ago

what a heavenly summer dessert. And i also love your cookie spoons 🙂

kouky
kouky
12 years ago

hummm!!! j'adore ton dessert!! merci pour cette superbe présentation et ce plaisir visuel! en attendant de réaliser la recette et de la déguster! bonne journée!!

Lora
Lora
12 years ago

I agree, some times when we are forced to pillage our cabinets and fridge creativity abounds. Crust on the side is just so clever. Love it! Lemon meringue is my favorite pie.

A qué huele mi cocina ...
A qué huele mi cocina ...
12 years ago

Magnífica presentación y un postre absolutamente delicioso!!

Cookbook Queen
Cookbook Queen
12 years ago

I loooooove lemon meringue. It is my all time favorite dessert. But I could give or take the crust sooo…this is perfect.

And I envy that you have a desk. I set up at my dining room table, which gives me no option for clutter 🙁 Hopefully soon…

Unknown
Unknown
12 years ago

So cute! I love the presentation and it looks so delicious! What a great dessert for a warm summer eve! Thanks, Chris

Kristen
Kristen
12 years ago

Love the animation! And the recipe looks marvelous. =)

Alia
Alia
12 years ago

Hi!

Im your follower!

I really really liked your blog!

Keep up the good work!

Do visit mine too at http://aliascreativelife.blogspot.com/

Alia

Megan's Cookin'
Megan's Cookin'
12 years ago

I love your presentation and that last picture where your eating it! Nice job 🙂

Unknown
Unknown
12 years ago

What I love best is that you've created perfect portion control with this. Love it. Small cups of pie instead on one big one!! Gorgeous!

Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking
Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking
12 years ago

Heather,
I just want to dive into those dishes and eat them from the inside out so I leave the meringue for last.
Another beautiful post! Thank you so much for sharing!

sherri lynn
sherri lynn
12 years ago

This is such a gorgeous dessert!

Anonymous
Anonymous
12 years ago

This is too funny because I too made lemon meringue this weekend by total chance. At first I wasn't sure an impromptu dessert like this was a good idea – all signs pointed to failure as my meringue fell while be transported in the car to the Memorial Day party – but in the end it was really good! I'm not a pie fan so I love the idea of the cookie. Definitely going to try that next time. My recipe didn't call for heating the meringue over water – I may try that next time as mine was a… Read more »

Pretty. Good. Food.
Pretty. Good. Food.
12 years ago

Absolutely gorgeous!!!

marla
marla
12 years ago

Heather, I love the cookie shovel!! Funny I was talking with a friend yesterday about how things often work out better when unplanned. This dessert is so creative & I bet beyond delicious!

Beth
Beth
12 years ago

Lemons and meringues are two of my favorite things. This dessert looks divine!

Lili
Lili
12 years ago

Oh my gosh I just sat here and watched that animated cookie shovel waiting to see how much of the dessert would disappear. (I'm a little slow tonight!) I'm still amazed that you just whipped this little dessert up with what you had on hand. Gosh it's so yummy looking and how fortunate that I just purchased an entire bag of lemons the other day without a thought as to what to make with them. Now I know. xo ~Lili

Kelly Senyei
Kelly Senyei
12 years ago

These look to spectacular! Now they're the frontrunner (next to your Key Lime Swirl Cheesecake Bars) as to what's on my baking menu next…

Michelle
Michelle
12 years ago

These look so delicious!! I am going to give them a go for my blog!

Michelle
http://www.kissedbysweets.blogspot.com

Sue
Sue
12 years ago

This looks out of this world! I love the cookies on the spoon, and your little "movie"! You always have something new up your sleeve and I love it! Have a great weekend, heather!

Leslie
Leslie
12 years ago

Love the animated gif..soooo inciting.

Aarthi
Aarthi
12 years ago

This looks yummy….you have a lovely blog…I am having a giveaway in my blog..Y dont you check and join that
http://yummytummy-aarthi.blogspot.com/2011/05/chocolate-recipe-and-chocolate.html

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets
Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets
12 years ago

Love the green color with the yellow. I'd seen this cookie idea on other blogs like Tartelette and wanted to try it for a while now.

Unknown
Unknown
12 years ago

That looks so good.

-Michi
-Michi
12 years ago

Hello! I absolutely love your blog and am always trying your recipes. When I saw this one I knew I had to make it. The custard and meringue turned out great, but the butter cookies turned into a goopy mess in the oven. I looked over the recipe again and tried it once more and this time they burned in just a few minutes! Do you know what might be wrong? I followed the exact ingredients in the recipe so I am unsure what went wrong 🙁