EZ Best-Ever Lemon Curd

Elliott's favorite pie is Lemon Meringue. It's an old-fashioned kind of pie, and every now and then, I get ambitious and make one for him.

I enjoy baking pies with Lilly and Warren...and they love rolling out the pie crust. (we use the refrigerated, rolled up crust. IT'S WONDERFUL.!) They both like doing something special for their parents...

But, making lemon curd is a dangerous and tedious process so the kids can't help. There's that constant boiling and stirring...tempering the egg yolks...ugh. They get bored while I'M DOING IT...(hey -- ME, TOO!!)

The last time I made lemon curd, Ross had to help me pour the hot mixture into the eggs...I don't seem to have enough hands nowadays. But the lemon curd is sooo worth it...

At our Hotel Blackhawk dessert party -- the cupcake at the far end of the table is a perfect little cake, plopped on a bed of lemon curd...with raspberries and whipped cream. Soooo delicious...

I was complaining to my sister Deena about how much work it was to make lemon curd...and she said, "are you kidding? I make it all the time - it takes about six minutes in the microwave."

OMG!!  HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS??

Deena's Microwave Lemon Curd

· ½ cup melted and slightly cooled butter
· 1 cup granulated sugar
· 3 large eggs
· 1 egg yolk
· 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
· Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

1. Whisk all the ingredients together in a large Microwave glass bowl.
2. Microwave on high in 1 minute increments, whisking after each increment, until the curd has thickened and coats the back of a spoon (usually 5-6 minutes).
3. You could pour the curd through a fine mesh strainer. (Deena doesn't bother).

Cover and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 ½ weeks*.

*(HA!! like two cups of lemon curd would last for TWO WEEKS!!)