Lemon Curd

Tired of all the commercial high-fat, high-cholesterol, artificially colored and chemically thickened lemon curd products in your grocer's preserves aisle? Try this recipe for a naturally pale-yellow, sweet-tart lemon curd and you will never want to buy one of the commercial products again! :-) I love it with cream cheese on some toasted bread - an irresistable breakfast treat! Also, it is one of the key ingredients in the Low-Fat Lemon-Swirled Cheesecake, another must try!

Ingredients (makes about 1 1/3 cups):

3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
2 large eggs
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine

Note: Lemon curd can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. You can also easily double the recipe and freeze half of it in a heavy-duty zip-top bag. Thaw in the refrigerator and use within one week of thawing.

Tip 1: For a lime-curd variation of this recipe, substitute lime rind and juice for the lemon rind and juice.

Tip 2: In a pretty jar, this lemon curd makes a great gift!

Preparation (20 minutes):

1. Combine sugar, lemon rind, and eggs in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook until sugar dissolves and mixture is light in color (about 3 minutes).

2. Stir in lemon juice and butter and cook for 5 minutes or until mixture thinly coats the back of a spoon, stirring constantly with a whisk.

3. Cool, cover, and chill.

Pucker up and ... enjoy!