I will admit it. Until recently, I haven't been a huge lemon fanatic. Give me the choice between something chocolate and something lemon, and I am going to go with the chocolate about 9.9 out of 10 times.
But something strange and unexpected has been happening to my taste palate this summer...
I have been craving and actually wanting lemon flavors!
Sometimes even over chocolate! <Gasp!>
It all started with those tasty and tart Easy Strawberry Lemonade Cookies I made last month... ;)
I had a jar of Lucky Leaf Premium Lemon pie filling just hanging out in my cupboard when I read about the Lucky Leaf Recipe Contest on Something Swanky's blog. It just seemed like fate at that point. ;)
Using my Lucky Leaf Lemon pie filling, I created my delicious Lemon Blueberry Meringue bars- creamy blueberry meringue floating over a tart lemon custard on a soft, buttery shortbread crust.
I brought these to a covered dish dinner, and as one sweet girl who sampled this said... "It is like a bite of heaven."
I'll take that! ;)
Lemon Blueberry Meringue Bars
by
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients (12 bars)
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 can Lucky Leaf Premium Lemon Pie Filling
- 4 egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup fresh blueberries (or frozen blueberries, thawed)
Instructions
Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and the 6 tbsp sugar. Mix in the egg. Then add in the flour and salt and mix until well blended.
Press the shortbread dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, and then freeze for 20 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Once the dough has been in the freezer for 20 minutes, bake it for 20 minutes rotating once halfway through. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
Once your shortbread crust has cooled, evenly spread over it the entire contents of the can of Lucky Leaf Premium Lemon Pie Filling. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until white and foamy. Add in the 1/2 cup of sugar and continue to beat using medium-high speed until stiff peaks form (about 5 minutes).
Now beat in your blueberries until blended through, about 1 minute.
Spread the blueberry meringue over the lemon pie filling layer with an offset spatula. Form peaks and pretty swirls in the meringue. Bake at 350 for another 8-10 minutes, until the tips of the peaks start to turn a golden brown.
Allow it cool completely before cutting into bars.
Keep any leftovers refrigerated for up to one day.
Enjoy!
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So, how about you? Are you team Lemon all the way?
Or are you a switch hitter like me? ;)
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