These bars are like the laid-back relative of traditional lemon meringue pie\u2014delivering the same sunny citrus punch but in a format that\u2019s easier to slice, share, and enjoy. Featuring a rich shortbread crust, a vibrant lemon custard center, and a cloud of toasted meringue on top, they show that bars can be just as impressive as pie\u2014if not more convenient.<\/p>\n
Lemon Meringue Pie Bars<\/p>\n
Ingredients<\/p>\n
Shortbread Crust
\n2\u00bc cups shortbread cookie crumbs (about 8 oz \/ 225g cookies)
\n3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted<\/p>\n
Lemon Filling
\n1\u00bd cups granulated sugar
\nPinch of salt
\n\u00bd cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 3\u20134 lemons)
\nZest of 1 medium lemon
\n4 large eggs, room temperature<\/p>\n
Meringue Topping
\n4 large egg whites, room temperature
\n\u00be cup granulated sugar
\nPinch of cream of tartar (optional)<\/p>\n
Instructions<\/p>\n
Crust<\/p>\n
Preheat oven to 350\u00b0F (175\u00b0C). Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, leaving extra on the sides for lifting later, and lightly grease.
\nCombine cookie crumbs and melted butter until evenly coated. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan.
\nBake for 14 minutes, until the edges begin to turn lightly golden.<\/p>\n
Lemon Filling<\/p>\n
While the crust is baking, whisk together sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Add lemon juice and eggs, whisking until smooth and fully combined.
\nPour the filling over the warm crust.
\nBake for 18\u201322 minutes, until the edges are set and the center still has a slight wobble.
\nAllow to cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight until firm.<\/p>\n
Meringue Topping<\/p>\n
Fill a saucepan with about 2 inches of water and bring to a gentle simmer.
\nIn a heatproof bowl set over the saucepan (without touching the water), whisk egg whites and sugar continuously for 5\u20137 minutes, until the mixture reaches 140\u00b0F (60\u00b0C) and the sugar dissolves.
\nTransfer to a stand mixer and beat for 5\u20137 minutes, until thick, glossy, and holding stiff peaks.<\/p>\n
Assembly<\/p>\n
Lift the chilled bars from the pan using the foil overhang.
\nSpread the meringue evenly over the lemon layer, creating decorative swirls.
\nToast the top with a kitchen torch or briefly under a broiler for 1\u20132 minutes, watching closely to prevent burning.
\nSlice into squares using a hot, clean knife for sharp edges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
These bars are like the laid-back relative of traditional lemon meringue pie\u2014delivering the same sunny citrus punch but in a format that\u2019s easier to slice,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viral-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindfulescapades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindfulescapades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindfulescapades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindfulescapades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindfulescapades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3225"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mindfulescapades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3227,"href":"https:\/\/mindfulescapades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3225\/revisions\/3227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindfulescapades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindfulescapades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindfulescapades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindfulescapades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}