Turn your favourite dessert into a sweet treat with this soft and chewy Lemon Meringue Cookies recipe! They’re bursting with fresh lemon zest and filled with crunchy meringue pieces and white chocolate chips.
About these Lemon Meringue Cookies
- FLAVOUR: fresh zesty lemon, creamy white chocolate chips and sweet meringue pieces.
- TEXTURE: the cookies have chewy edges and a gooey middle, with a little crunch from the meringue pieces.
- EASE: suitable for all baking levels, this is an easy one-bowl recipe.
- PERFECT FOR: summer baking, BBQ treats and picnics.
Let’s talk ingredients
Aside from the usual ingredients you’ll find in all my cookie dough recipes, there are a few additions that give them that lovely lemon meringue flavour:
- Lemons – the cookie dough is flavoured with the zest of two lemons bringing a fresh, zingy flavour.
- Meringue nests – are crushed up and folded into the cookie dough. Save time and use shop-bought nests, no one will know!
- White chocolate chips – no cookie is complete without chocolate chips in my opinion, so although you wouldn’t typically find white chocolate chips in a traditional lemon meringue dessert, they absolutely enhance the flavour and texture of these cookies.
Roll the cookie dough and freeze before baking
If you’ve made my chewy chocolate chip cookies or kinder cookies you will know that usually the entire bowl of cookie dough is chilled for at least 4 hours or overnight, then rolled and baked. But let’s face it, we all know that the long wait is far from ideal. So, for these lemon meringue cookies, I tested out a new method to reduce the chill time to the minimum meaning you get to enjoy your cookies sooner! Here’s how it works:
- Prep the cookie dough – a little extra flour and less melted butter gives the dough more structure and reduces spread.
- Roll into balls straightaway – the dough will be the perfect consistency for rolling and shaping into balls. Place the balls in a lined baking tin/tray as you go then cover the whole tin with clingfilm.
- Freeze for two hours – after testing different freezing times, two hours was the sweet spot for a great texture and flavour.
- Bake – 10 minutes is all these lemon meringue cookies need in the oven to achieve a lovely soft and chewy texture.
Two tips for picture-perfect Lemon Meringue Cookies
As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, do these two things to make your cookies look just as good as they taste:
- Decorate the tops – save a handful of white chocolate chips and meringue pieces and press them into the top of the cookie for a pretty finish.
- Shape the cookies – spin a round cutter around the cookies to shape them into perfect circles.
Lemon Meringue Cookies
Ingredients
- 150 g Unsalted butter
- 100 g White caster sugar
- 150 g Light brown sugar
- 1 medium Egg
- 1 medium Egg yolk
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 280 g Self-raising flour
- 0.5 tsp Salt
- 100 g White chocolate chips
- 2 Lemons zest only
- 40 g Meringue nests
Instructions
Start by making the cookie dough
- Place the butter in a large bowl and microwave for 60 seconds or until melted.
- Add both sugars and mix to combine.
- Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract, then mix to combine.
- Add the flour and salt, then fold together to form a cookie dough.
- Fold in the white chocolate chips, lemon zest and crushed meringue pieces until well mixed through.
- Scoop up a heaped tablespoon of cookie dough and roll it into a ball. Repeat until all the cookie dough has been used up, making roughly 15 in total.
- Place the cookie dough balls in a baking tin, cover with clingfilm and freeze for two hours. In case you want to prep ahead or keep stored for another day, the rolled dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Bake the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 200°C conventional. Line two large flat baking trays with greaseproof paper.
- Place 5-6 cookie dough balls on a baking tray, leaving space between each so they have room to spread out.
- Bake for 10 minutes until golden and firm on the outside, but pale and soft in the middle.
- Leave to cool on the baking tray for 20 minutes, then tuck in and enjoy!
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
I really hope you enjoyed it and I’d also love to hear what you think! Feel free to leave a comment or star rating below, and you can also DM me on Instagram or tag @jessie.bakes.cakes so I can see your delicious cookies.
More cookie recipes to love
This post contains affiliate links which means I will make a small commission if you purchase through those links. I only recommend products that I know, trust and use myself.
Do these have to be frozen or can they be cooked from stage 6?
You can bake them from stage 6 but the cookies will spread more in the oven and won’t be as thick 😊
[…] If fruity flavours are your thing, be sure to check out the other recipes in my “Dessert Cookie Series”: Eton Mess Cookies and Lemon Meringue Cookies. […]
What is a meringue nest?😬
Hi Mary. Meringue nests are swirls of pre-made meringue that you can buy in a packet in most supermarkets. They’re typically found next to where the custard/sponge fingers/wafers/ice-cream sauces are and are commonly used for eton mess or crushed up in summer desserts. Hope that’s helpful!
[…] If lemon is more your thing, be sure to check out the first recipe in the series: Lemon Meringue Cookies. […]