Lemon Meringue Blondies

The creation of this recipe was inspired by one of my best lifelong friends (we met at the age of 5, meaning I’ve technically known her longer than her sister has, so I’m counting it). A fellow tall girl and complete golden retriever of a person, she’s more than earned her place on the list of people I would go out of my way for. Designing a recipe with her in mind is the least I can do to show my appreciation of her friendship. Between her adoration of all lemon desserts and her bright personality, I knew lemon meringue was the route to take.

Lemon meringue is a classic, timeless combination for a reason. The tartness of the lemon and the sweet, airiness of the meringue are an absolutely harmonious combination. I could’ve gone a more traditional route with a pie, but I wanted something a little bit different. Something more people would be comfortable recreating, since making a lemon curd can be a bit scary for an inexperienced baker and I’m already asking for a bit of bravery with the meringue. Thus, lemon meringue blondies were born. Easy to make, chewy, bursting with lemon flavor, you’re going to be in citrus heaven.

FAQs and Science

Why let the lemon zest sit in the sugar for several minutes before throwing them into the rest of the batter?

Doing this step helps with flavor development. The sugar will draw out the natural oils in the lemon zest, thus intensifying the lemon flavor in the loaf.

How do I zest a lemon?

I like to use the Martha Stewart method, since it’s easier to see what’s going on with the fruit that way. Take your microplane or fine grater and drag it along the top of the lemon in short bursts, shaving off the yellow part of the peel and avoiding the white pith underneath. Turn the lemon as you need to. The zest will collect on top of your tool of choice, simply dump it into the sugar when you’re ready to.

Why should I avoid that white stuff when I’m zesting?

The white pith beneath the zest is incredibly bitter, it will only drag down the flavor of the blondies.

Do I have to use fresh squeezed lemon juice?

I know the bottled stuff is convenient and therefore tempting, but it makes a huge difference squeezing it out yourself. You’re going to get a much brighter and more pleasant lemon flavor putting in the extra few minutes of effort here. I promise, it’s worth it.

What style of meringue is this?

Swiss meringue! It’s more stable than French meringue, and the egg whites get cooked during the beginning steps so you don’t need to worry about raw eggs.

Can I mix the meringue without a stand mixer?

I’ve done it, it’s not fun. Even with a hand mixer, it’s very taxing on muscles you typically don’t use. If you have a stand mixer, I highly recommend using it here.

Why should I slowly increase the speed of the mixer while whisking the meringue?

The protein in eggs prefers to be slowly stretched out and fluffed up.

How do I know it’s reached stiff peaks?

When you dip the whisk into the meringue, pull it straight up, and the meringue is sticking straight up without a hook at the end, you’ve achieved stiff peaks. See reference picture above.

What You’ll Need

8×8 baking dish
Parchment paper
Stand mixer with whisk attachment
Large mixing bowl
2 small mixing bowls
Dry measuring cups
Liquid measuring cup
Measuring spoons
Microplane or fine grater
Whisk
Rubber spatula
Offset spatula
Kitchen torch (optional)
Cutting board
Chef’s knife

The Process

Prepare the Batter

Begin with the blondie batter. Preheat the oven to 350F, on the convection setting if possible, and prepare the pan. Line an 8×8 inch baking dish with parchment paper along the bottom and up the sides, and set the pan aside. This way, the blondies will easily release from the pan in the end. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this bowl aside.

In a large mixing bowl, pour the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Zest the lemons directly onto the sugar and, using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar. Allow this mixture to sit for 5 minutes or so before continuing on. This time will allow the sugar to draw the natural oils out of the lemon zest, therefore intensifying the lemon flavor in the blondies.

In a small microwave safe bowl or in a pan on the stove, heat the butter until it’s just melted but not hot. If you need to, allow the butter a few minutes to sit at room temperature to cool down a bit. Pour the melted butter into the lemon sugar and whisk them together.

Add the egg, egg yolk, lemon extract, and lemon juice to the butter sugar mixture. Take the extra few minutes to squeeze the lemon juice fresh. Although more convenient, the stuff from the bottle will make the blondies bitter. Your hard work will be rewarded. Whisk them together until the mixture is smooth.

Dump the dry goods all at once into the wet mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir them together until all of the flour has been absorbed and you’re left with a complete batter. Stop mixing once the batter has combined. If you over-mix it, the blondies run the risk of being tough, a mouthfeel no one wants.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake the blondies for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, flipping halfway through.

Prepare the Meringue

While the blondies bake, prepare the meringue.

Place a pot half full of water on the stove top and bring it up to a boil. When it’s reached a boil, reduce the temperature on the stove to bring the water down to a simmer. You’re assembling what’s known as a double boiler, or a bain marie if you want to get fancy with it. This setup will allow the egg whites to heat slowly and gently, as you’re not actually trying to cook them all the way through as you heat the meringue.

As the water comes up to a boil, add the egg whites, sugar, and salt to the very clean bowl of a stand mixer. It’s especially important that your bowl be as clean as it can be here, as any traces of fat will prevent your meringue from fluffing up the way it’s supposed to. Gently whisk them together. Once the water boils, turn the heat back down to a simmer and place the bowl on top of the pot. The water should not be touching the bottom of the stand mixer bowl, steam is supposed to be doing the heavy lifting here.

Continuously whisk the egg whites over the water. After about 5 minutes, dip a finger into the egg whites and rub it against a second finger. If it’s smooth, remove it from the heat and continue onto the next step. If you still feel granules of sugar, keep whisking over the heat, checking this again in another minute or so. Repeat this process until it feels smooth.

Move the bowl onto the stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, add in the vanilla and start beating the mixture. Start on level 3 and slowly move the mixer onto higher levels to gradually beat the meringue faster, until you’ve achieved stiff peaks. This may take a while, just be patient and let the mixer do its thing. The meringue will get there eventually. Set this aside until the blondies are ready.

Assemble Everything

Allow the blondies to cool down mostly to room temperature in the pan, then spread the meringue over top in an even layer. If you’d like, you could do a fancy swooping design or even pipe it on top. The meringue will stay in whichever shape you place it in when it’s toasted, so have fun with it!

To toast the meringue, you can use either a kitchen torch over the top of the meringue or place the rack near the top of your oven. If you’re using a torch (aka the fun method), hold the flame close to the edge of the meringue and gently toast it. If using the oven, turn the broiler on high, and place the pan back in the oven on the top rack until the top has browned, around 1-2 minutes. Monitor it closely, as the meringue can go from toasted to burned very easily with this method.

Allow the blondies to come completely down to room temperature, then transfer them to a cutting board. Slice an even 4×4 grid.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge, and enjoy!

Bake Time: 350F for 20-25 minutes
Servings: 16 bars
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Prep Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients

Batter:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup granulated sugar
⅔ cup light brown sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
⅓ cup unsalted butter
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 teaspoons lemon extract
¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

Meringue:

2 large egg whites
½ cup sugar
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Blondie Batter:

Preheat the oven to 350F, on the convection setting if possible, and prepare the pan. Line an 8×8 inch baking dish with parchment paper along the bottom and up the sides, and set the pan aside.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this bowl aside.
In a large mixing bowl, pour the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Zest the lemons directly onto the sugar and, using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar. Allow this mixture to sit for 5 minutes or so before continuing on.
In a small microwave safe bowl or in a pan on the stove, heat the butter until it’s just melted but not hot. Pour the melted butter into the lemon sugar and whisk them together.
Add the egg, egg yolk, lemon extract, and lemon juice to the butter sugar mixture. Whisk them together until homogeneous.
Dump the dry goods all at once into the wet mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir them together until all of the flour has been absorbed and you’re left with a complete batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake the blondies for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, flipping halfway through.