Sketches of Sky Valley: Lemon Curd Squares (Easy, quick, yummy)

Warning: This recipe calls for a food processor or at least something you can make a crust with by chopping butter!

LEMON CURD SQUARES
Reference: "Williams-Sonoma Dessert"

Prep: 25 minutes or so Bake: about 42 minutes total
Oven: 350°F for crust, 325°F for filling.

Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Filling:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons heavy cream

optional: confectioners' powdered sugar for dusting. I found the recipe already extremely sweet, so I went without.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish, preferably glass. I went with Pam nonstick cooking spray, however, as my lame oven will fill the kitchen with smoke if I dare to use real butter to grease any pans with.

2. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Pulse briefly until blended. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the dough forms moist crumbs and sticks together when pinched, about 1 minute. This sounds almost freakin' magically simple, but I was surprised that voila I have a crust that easily. You're flippin' kidding me, right? Awesome! Press the dough into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the prepared baking dish, lightly flouring your fingertips if necessary to prevent them from sticking. I tried this, and it wasn't spreading evenly enough, so I floured the bottom of a flat-bottomed drinking glass and pressed the crust with it. Worked like a charm.

3. Bake the crust until pale golden, 20 - 22 minutes. Let the crust cool completely on a rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

4. To make the filling, whisk together the sugar, flour, salt and zest in a medium-sized bowl. Add the eggs, lemon juice and cream and whisk until just blended. Carefully pour the mixture over the baked and now-cooled crust.

5. Bake until the filling is set but jiggles just slightly when the dish is gently shaken, about 20 minutes, or longer if using a metal pan. Let cool on a rack for about 30 minutes. Run the tip of a small knife along the inside of the dish to loosen the crust from the sides, then let cool completely.

6. Cut into 12 small rectanges (Or a 4 x 4 grid if that makes more sense for you to visualize) and carefully remove from the dish with a spatula. Sift a dusting of confectioners' sugar over the rectangles just before serving if you're using it. Me, I took one look at all the sugar in this and knew it would be pretty darn sweet already. This turned out REALLY yummy, though. I just made it tonight. Quick and easy, and if you have a lemon or two sitting around unused waiting to go bad, this is an excellent use of it. :)