Lemon Meringue Pie Bars function a crunchy crust, lemon bar filling, and pillowy meringue topping! Contemporary lemon juice and lemon zest give these bars loads of lemon taste.

Lemon Pie Bars

Lemons had been on sale final week, so I stocked up and went to work making a bunch of recent lemon recipes! I purchased over 15 kilos… so put together your self for an onslaught of lemon recipes. First up? We’ve bought basic lemon meringue pie bars!

They’re tremendous lemony, baked till flippantly golden brown, and topped with essentially the most scrumptious melt-in-your-mouth meringue. And bonus: they’ll hold within the fridge for as much as 48 hours! So you may have them able to serve for dessert nicely prematurely.

Elements for Lemon Meringue Pie Bars

• Butter: Unsalted butter works finest, however in a pinch you should use salted. Simply omit the salt known as for within the recipe.
• Granulated Sugar: Do NOT cut back the sugar in any a part of this recipe. I examined this recipe obsessively to make sure it’s not overly candy. And used the smallest quantity of sugar doable to keep up correct texture and style steadiness. Decreasing it extra will have an effect on style and texture.
• All-Objective Flour: While you measure your flour, make sure to use a digital scale or the “fluff and scoop” technique. Which suggests fluffing your flour up within the container, then very flippantly spooning it into the measuring cup till it’s overflowing. Use a knife to degree it off.
• Cornstarch: Additionally know as corn flour. That is a vital ingredient, so don’t omit or substitute.
• Salt: Desk salt or effective sea salt will work right here. Salt helps improve all the flavors on this recipe, whereas balancing sweetness.
• Lemons: Be sure you have loads of massive, heavy lemons available. As they have an inclination to yield essentially the most juice and zest!
• Eggs: You’ll use complete eggs in addition to egg yolks and egg whites. Tip: It’s simpler to separate eggs whereas they’re chilly. Then you may go away them at room temperature, for about 20 minutes, earlier than utilizing.

The way to Make Lemon Meringue Pie Bars?

1. Put together the Pan: Preheat oven to 350 and line a sq. baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Make the Crust: Press the crust into the the ready baking pan and bake till golden brown. Cool utterly earlier than including the lemon filling.
3. Make the Lemon Filling: In a big bowl, make the lemon filling. Then pour the filling over the cooled crust and bake. Cool the bars utterly on a wire rack.
4. Make the Meringue Topping: The important thing to a terrific meringue is to comply with the recipe EXACTLY and take your time. Ensure you’ve a handheld electrical mixer that goes as much as excessive velocity. That is important for beating the meringue till stiff peaks type! You’ll have about 1 and 1/2 cups of meringue topping, which is a lot to cowl the bars.

Instruments for This Recipe:

• 9-Inch Metallic Baking Pan
• Citrus Zester
• Citrus Juicer
• Handheld Electrical Mixer
• Parchment Paper

Lemon Meringue Pie Bars

Ashley Manila

Lemon Meringue Pie Bars function a crunchy crust, lemon bar filling, and pillowy meringue topping! Contemporary lemon juice and lemon zest give these bars loads of lemon taste.

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Prepare dinner Time 55 minutes minutes

Chill Time: 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Delicacies Baking, Lemon

Elements 

For the Crust:

• 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter room temperature
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon (10g) cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Lemon Bars:

• 1 Tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 and 1/2 cups (298g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (30g) all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoons (20g) cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 massive egg yolks room temperature
• 3 massive eggs room temperature
• 1 cup (227ml) lemon juice freshly squeezed and strained by way of a fine-mesh strainer earlier than use

For the Meringue Topping:

• 3 massive *egg whites
• 1/3 cup (66g) granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions 

For the Crust:

• Preheat the oven to 350 levels (F). Line a 9-inch sq. metallic baking dish with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Spray the parchment paper and any uncovered pan with nonstick baking spray. Put aside till wanted.

• Within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-speed, scraping the underside and sides as wanted, till mild and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 

• Add within the flour, cornstarch, and salt, and beat on medium-speed simply till mixed, scraping the underside and sides of the bowl as wanted. The combination might be crumbly. 

• Press the combination evenly into the underside of the ready baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or till golden brown and set. Switch to a cooling rack to chill when you make the filling. 

• Cut back the oven temperature to 300 levels (F). 

For the Lemon Bars:

• In a big bowl mix the lemon zest and sugar and, utilizing your arms, rub the lemon zest into the sugar till aromatic, about 2 minutes. 

• Add within the flour, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks, and eggs and whisk easily. Whisk within the lemon juice till evenly mixed. 

• Pour the filling over the crust and return to the oven. Bake till the filling is simply set, about half-hour. Switch the pan to a wire cooling rack and prepare dinner utterly. Then cowl and chill for 1 hour. Or as much as 48 hours.

For the Meringue Topping:

• Fill a big saucepan ⅓ of the best way full with water. Carry to a simmer over reasonable warmth. 

• In a heatproof bowl that matches snugly on prime of the pan, whisk collectively the egg whites, sugar, and salt. 

• Set the  bowl on prime of the pan of boiling water and proceed whisking till the combination reaches 135 levels (F) on a sweet thermometer.

• Fastidiously take away the bowl from warmth. Utilizing a handheld electrical mixer, beat on medium-high velocity till smooth peaks have shaped. 

• Enhance the velocity to excessive and proceed beating till  stiff however spreadable peaks have shaped. 

• Unfold and swirl the meringue on prime of the cooled lemon bars. Utilizing a kitchen torch, brown the meringue. Slice and serve! 

Notes

It’s best to separate eggs when chilly, then let the egg whites come to room temperature. 

Key phrase lemon, lemon desserts, lemon bars, lemon meringue pie, pie bars