Mom' s Lemon Tart

I have have an ever-growing collection of recipes from the culinary mystery series I love by Josi Kilpack. I've been putting off making these recipes, mostly out of fear. This is a daunting goal. But I figure that like every other goal I have set this year, I can't get anywhere near finishing if I don't take a step and start. I've made a couple over the last year or two, but I outdid myself tonight and made two recipes. The first I made was "Mom's Lemon Tart".

Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter (cut into smaller pieces)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a food processor or mixer, combine ingredients for crust. Pulse together until a dough starts to form in clumps. Press into tart pan, making sure to cover bottom and sides evenly. Pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork and place in freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Place tart pan on a cookie sheet and back until crust is a golden-brown color, approximately 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Filling:
5 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup granulated sugar (Breanna likes an extra 1/4 cup sugar in the filling)
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons - DO NOT use concentrated lemon juice)
2 large eggs
Zest from one lemon (get zest from lemon before juicing)

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Mix cream cheese with electric beaters until smooth. Add sugar. Mix until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each egg. Stop and scrape bowl halfway through. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix until smooth.

Pour filling into tart crust and bake on cookie sheet for 20 to 30 minutes or until filling is set. Let tart cool on wire cooling rack. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

Use whipped cream as an optional topping. It can be piped on in stars or served on top with each piece. For extra flavor in the whipped cream, add a teaspoon of lemon zest.

**Quick note: I didn't added the extra sugar mentioned in the filling, but if I did it again, I probably would. It was pretty tart, but oh so rich and delicious. As my father would say, "that'll make your tongue slap your brains out".

Serves 20.

As the recipe is written (without the extra 1/2 cup of sugar, a serving is only 3 PP!! Not too shabby!