Lemon Drop Meringues – light meringues infused with lemon. Lemon juice and zest provide the perfect balance to these sweet, melt-in-your-mouth cookies. Garnished with lemon zest and sparkling sugar to give them a pretty, shimmery look.
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Here we are in the beginning of fall, waving a big goodby to summer. Although summer is officially over, Houston is still feeling temperatures in the mid 90’s. So really, it still feels like summer in most parts of Texas.
I really hesitated to share this recipe for Lemon Drop Meringues. Don’t get me wrong. These meringues are fantastic! The sweet yet slightly tart flavor is in perfect balance. The crispy exterior shell gives way to a light melt-in your-mouth texture. In a word, I’d call these Lemon Drop Meringues “heavenly”.
The reason for my hesitation? It’s fall and lemon desserts make me think of summer.
I first made these Lemon Drop Meringues in the middle of my summer. I had just made my Lemon Mango Icebox Pie with the juices of fresh lemons and said, whoa! Meringues with lemon zest and a dash of lemon juice would be totally wonderful – and bam! Lemon Drop Meringues were created.
The recipe calls for egg whites, cream of tartar, sugar, lemon juice and the zest of a lemon. For this batch of Lemon Meringues, I added some lemon zest and white sparkling sugar to the tops as they baked in the oven. Next time, I might use yellow sparkling sugar to give the cookies more color.
I honestly couldn’t wait to share these dreamy, melt-in-your-mouth treats with you, but life happened.
A month passed. We took a family vacation.
Another month passed. My husband’s parents came for a (very) long visit. School started.
I almost didn’t post this recipe at all. I thought I might have missed the “perfect recipes for summer” window, but you know what? I don’t know about you, but I happen to use fresh lemon juice all year round.
I add lemon juice to many, many recipes, vinaigrettes, flavored drinks, and I even add lemon to my water on a daily basis, so why not use the zest of the lemons. Lemons are always in my kitchen and adding some of the zest to a sweet treat is a great idea, in my opinion.
Making meringues is easy. If you’re making a recipe where you only need to use egg yolks, save the egg whites to make these treats.
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Lemon Drop Meringues - light meringues infused with lemon. Lemon juice and zest provide the perfect balance to these sweet, melt-in-your-mouth cookies.
- 2 egg whites , large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (plus more for garnish)
- 1 teaspoon sparkling sugar (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until fluffy.
- Add the sugar very slowly, about 1 tablespoon at a time while still beating.
- Add the lemon juice and continue beating until the meringue is shiny and holds stiff peaks.
- Fold in the lemon zest.
- Drop by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheet and place about 1-inch apart.
- Top with extra lemon zest and sprinkle with sparkling sugar (optional).
- Place baking sheets in the preheated oven and turn the oven off.
- Leave the cookies undisturbed in the oven for at least 2 hours.
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HI, I'm JOANIE! WELCOME TO ZAGLEFT!
I’m Joanie, a Recipe Developer, Food Stylist, Food Photographer, TV Contributor, Travel Enthusiast, Wife and Mom of Five. If you're looking for single serving recipes, you've come to the right place! Here you'll find a wonderful collection of simple, fresh and flavorful recipes that are perfect for those cooking just for one. 
I love this! The pictures are beautiful by the way
Thank you so much, Sarah!
Meringues are SO dangerous for me- Because of their texture and taste, I can literally polish off an entire batch. Not that I’ve ever done that…the lemon flavor is a great touch! 🙂
They’re so good, Arman. I fool myself into thinking “just one more” is really okay because they’re so light and delicate. Thank you!
Psh, I will eat lemon desserts any time of the year!! They do look heavenly and I bet my dad would love them (he used to tease me for picking the meringue off my lemon meringue pie, haha.)
I enjoy lemon desserts year-round too, Kacey.
I love meringues, I think they are such adorable little cookies! These sound delicious!
Thanks, Marye. They really are pretty little cookies.
I just started making meringue a few months ago and can’t get over how easy they really are and SO delicious! Lemon sounds dreamy 🙂
They’re sooooo easy to make. Thanks, Sharon!
These are so lovely and elegant. I can’t wait to try them 🙂
Toodles,
Tammy<3
Thanks, Tammy!
I love meringues! They are so light and airy, sweet and crisp that seem to just melt in your mouth. I love how the outsides of the meringues are nice and crisp, yet the insides remain wonderfully soft and puffy. Yummy!
I recently started liking lemon flavored desserts. Will have to try this. It looks good!
Thank you. I hope you get to try them.
I love Lemon Meringues. So yummy. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Yum! Thanks for sharing. I adore lemon. Meringues would be so perfect with a touch of the zest. Great idea!
I love the lemon flavor in these meringues. It gives them just the right amount of tart flavor. Thanks, Mirlandra!
These sound so yummy! 🙂
Thanks, Kristyn!
Those meriingues–a seriously great recipe and one that I am bookmarking to make!
Thank you, Carol!
I’m with you here in Texas–it’s 94 here in San Antonio today. Ugh. Fall, puh-leez. I wish it were Fall! But at least you and I (and a bunch of other people here) can enjoy these Summer-themed goodies without guilt! Yum!
I hope it cools off and begins to feel like Fall soon, Dee Dee – maybe by December 😉 Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I love a good meringue…they’re naturally gluten free which is a bonus! Your lemon meringues sound delish!
Thanks, Cynthia!
I just love these meringues, Joanie! 🙂 So delicious to add fresh lemon!
Me too! Thanks, Carrie!
Meringues are so addicting! I have never tried lemon drop meringues but I will have too try them soon! Look amazing!
Thanks, Neli!
So SO pretty! These would look amazing on my holiday cookie tray!
Thanks so much, Trish!
I love meringues, but have always had a terrible time making them. Your recipes and instructions make it seem pretty easy. I may have to give them another try.
I hope you give them another try, Kathy. It’s a great dessert to make when you have leftover egg whites from another recipe.
These look so pretty. And lemon is a flavor I use year round. Our fridge is always filled with lemons and limes. 🙂
Thank you, Susan. I use lemons year-round too.
Oh, yum! Such a wonderful looking recipe! Thank you for sharing!! Have a wonderful weekend ahead!
Thanks so much, Ashleigh! Hope you have a wonderful weekend too:)
I don’t think these are just limited to summer anyways. When I first saw them it immediately made me think of snow puffs. So they can totally be a winter dessert too 🙂
That’s true. Thanks, Trisha!
Where I live (So Calif.), lemons are all year, so we eat lemon-flavored things any month. Wonderful sweets!
Lemon in meringue? That sounds fantastic! I love meringue but I haven’t tried this before. It is really a must-try. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Meringues are one of my favorite things to make! Love all of the lemoniess going on in this recipe!
These look SO GOOD! I love love love lemon but have only made meringues once. This is a must try!
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