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!
Mini Meyer Lemon Tarts with Shortbread Crust
Sweet and tangy Mini Meyer Lemon Tarts with buttery shortbread crusts are easy and delicious spring and summer desserts!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: about 8 tarts (depending on pan size) 1x
- Category: dessert
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)
For the lemon curd:
- 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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Do you need to grease the tart pans first before putting the dough in??
Hi Julie,
There is enough butter in the crust that it’s fine without greasing the pans, but if you’re worried it certainly won’t hurt anything!
Hiya! I enjoyed your recipe so much, it was so lovely. It tasted absolutely beautiful
Hi Monica,
I’m so glad you enjoyed these tarts! Thanks for stopping by to comment. I’d love if you’d take a moment to give them a star rating!
I left you a star rating on how beautiful your recipe was, it was spectacular
★★★★★
Thanks Monica! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Should I use granulated sugar or castor sugar for this recipe?
Hi Minnie, I used granulated sugar.
How far in advance can I make and what would be the best storing method? I want to make it for a home party a week in advance..
Hi Saranyaa, I would suggest storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I probably wouldn’t make them more than 2-3 days in advance. Thanks for stopping by!
I’m not sure what happened with this recipe. The dough seemed way too dry and didn’t even form a ball, it was loose like flour. I made sure to cream the butter and sugar correctly, but the flour just took over. I pressed them into muffin tins and baked them at 300 degrees, and over an hour later, they were still not golden brown at all and were soft and mushy. I just gave up and took them out of the oven. Is the dough supposed to be that dry and not form a proper ball? My oven works just fine, so I’m not sure why it took forever and never properly baked.
Oh no, I’m not sure what went wrong either. Did you use wheat flour? I’m sorry you had trouble with the recipe.
Hey!!
Im trying your recipe for the first time rather any lemon tart recipe. I am keeping my fingers crossed :D. Can you tell how long can i keep this in the fridge before the crust gets soggy? Should i add the curd at the very end before serving? or the crust would stay fine if i add the curd and refrigerate it.
I had a disaster with cheese cake topping :/. The cherry topping was liquidy and it made my base go soggy :l so im kinda worried about the crust.
Thanks for your recipe 🙂
Regards,
Safaa Akbar
Hi Safaa,
They should be fine for a day or so. If you are going to make them any farther ahead of time, you could store them separately until ready to serve. Good luck!
What are the dimensions of the tarts. How wide across?
Hi Mary,
My tart pans are about 3 inches across. Thanks for stopping by!
The Easter roundup is live on my blog 🙂 http://takeasweetbite.com
First time making lemon tarts. I use bigger tart tins so it only made four and I had to cook them longer. All this to say , that my husband , who doesn’t like lemon desserts, ate the whole thing… Thanks, so easy and great instructions. Now looking on your site for his favorite… chocolate anything
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed these! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, would these be the same as lemon tarts at cafe’s?
Hi Sheree, I can’t say as I’m not sure I’ve ever had what you’re describing, but they might be a little more tart and less custard-like since the filling is just lemon curd. Thanks for stopping by!
absolutely delicous! Portions and ratios were all perfect. I used smaller tart tins, so I didn’t have enough shortbread dough to pair with the lemon curd. But still delicious and easy!
Hi Kyla, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for stopping by!