lemon butter tartlets

With the other half of the Barefoot Contessa pie dough recipe sitting in a Ziploc bag in the fridge looking unwanted, and a couple of Meyer lemons needing to come off of the dwarf citrus tree, it seemed, at six thirty in the morning last Thursday, a good a time as any to make some lemon butter tartlets. I really enjoyed A Chow Life's blog post about this very same subject, and thought that both lemons and fatty dough should not be left to languish for a second longer than necessary.

the whole thing took about 20 minutes, but should have taken less time if i had measured and prepared ingredients before turning a heating element on, but such was the case.

the tartlets themselves were the easiest part, let me tell you. it took no time at all to roll and cut and then poke little forkholes in. i intentionally didn't use pie weights, as i didn't want deep cups, more like little saucers with curled up edges. after all, lemon butter is quite rich and the taste is like lemon meringue when you have a little, and when you have a significant amount it tastes a little different altogether. is lemon butter supposed to taste so... eggy? maybe i should have not let the four (4!) yolks heat up as much as they did. i wanted something that would be relatively safe at room temperature for a little while, so i let the yolk and sugar dissolve and cook together while i did other things. maybe that was my mistake. but then i may not have any reference points because i'm fairly certain that i've never even tasted lemon curd or lemon butter before. so i submit that i was flying blind here, and i may or may not have successfully made this recipe.
they disappeared quickly enough, so maybe it's just my own paranoia.
Also, these are a few egg whites away from being called lemon curd, and i'd be inclined to call them that were it not for my interest in consistency between recipe source and post. curd is just like a sweet hollandaise sauce, and that's an apt description of what i made if i ever read one.


Lemon Butter
4 egg yoks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice (the juice of two large lemons)
1/4 cup unsalted butter chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
Beat the eggs yolks in the top of a double boiler off heat. add in the sugar and lemon juice. Cook and stir nearly constantly over simmering water until the mixture is a puree type consistancy. Add in the butter and continue to stir until thick and smooth. Remove from heat. Store in glass container

something i'd add, if i may, is to whisk in the butter in tiny cubes only one or two at a time, whisking for 10-15 seconds after each addition. if you throw it all in, you won't emulsify the yolks and the butter and it won't turn out right.