Sweet and tangy Mini Meyer Lemon Tarts with buttery shortbread crusts are easy and delicious spring and summer desserts!
Everyone talks about life giving you lemons and making lemonade. Well guess what? 1. If life gave me lemons, I would make something way cooler than lemonade (hellooo dessert!) and 2. Life does not give me lemons… unfortunately.
So what do I do when life doesn’t give me lemons? I go to my sister’s house because life has blessed her with a whole tree full of gorgeous Meyer lemons right in her backyard!
My sister lives right outside of Houston where everything grows beautifully thanks to immense humidity and heat, unlike the bone-dry climate where I live that literally kills cacti. No, it has nothing to do with my brown thumb…
We had trouble figuring out which citrus tree was in her backyard until my grandma, the lemon expert, declared that it was a Meyer lemon tree. And I’ve had lovely Meyer lemons ever since.
So what do I make when my sister gives me lemons? I make lemon curd, and then I make Mini Meyer Lemon Tarts with shortbread crust, of course!
The shortbread crust on these mini tarts is buttery and crispy with a hint of vanilla that goes perfectly with the velvety smooth and tart Meyer lemon curd filling. It’s a match made in mini dessert heaven! If you’ve never made lemon curd before, don’t be intimidated. It’s pretty easy and tastes SO much better than he store-bought kind. Meyer lemon curd is a little sweeter than traditional lemon curd, but you can certainly use regular lemons, just bump the sugar up a little bit.
Make these delicious mini Meyer Lemon Tarts with shortbread crust for your next summer gathering, and you’ll be wishing life would give you lemons a little more often!
Sweet and tangy Mini Meyer Lemon Tarts with buttery shortbread crusts are easy and delicious spring and summer desserts!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup white whole wheat (or all purpose) flour
- 1/4 tsp sea salt (omit if using salted butter)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup Meyer lemon curd (recipe below)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (from 3-4 Meyer lemons)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
- 3 large eggs + 4 large egg yolks
- 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick), cubed
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add flour, salt, and vanilla and mix well. Refrigerate dough for 30 min.
- Preheat oven to 300° F. Remove dough from refrigerator and press into mini tart pans. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool before removing tarts from pans.
- Fill each cooled tart with lemon curd. Top with berries or whipped cream (optional).
- To make lemon curd:
- Whisk eggs and egg yolks very well in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat lemon zest, juice, sugar and salt over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat. Slowly scoop a bit (about 1/2 cup) into the eggs while whisking.
- Pour egg mixture into the pan on the stove while whisking to prevent curdling. Turn heat back on and cook, whisking, until mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the butter and remove from heat.
- At this point you can strain the zest out and any egg solids that may be in the curd (this will happen the first few times you make it). Cover lemon curd and chill until ready to use.
Notes
Lemon curd recipe adapted from The Food Charlatan
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