Lemons, lemons, lemons… who doesn’t like lemons? I have a lemon tree which I really don’t use as much as I should, so yesterday while I was with my dogs in the backyard I picked a couple of lemons and decided to make the classic lemon bars, but then I thought… I want to make something different and because I’ve been baking with wine quite a bit lately I searched if there was any lemon drink that I could use to bake, and I found out Limoncello (which you could actually make at home but I didn’t have much time for that). So, I went to the store and got a bottle (around $20). Limoncello is traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner digestivo. Along the Amalfi Coast (Italy), it is usually served in small ceramic glasses that are also chilled. Limoncello is also used to make cocktails, ice cream, dessert, etc.

And because I got Limoncello which is from Italy, I wanted use Italian cookies for the crust. I found lady fingers, pizzelles, biscotti and amaretti. I went for amaretti cookies because they are made with almonds and I love love nutty flavor crusts.

This recipe is really simple, no tricks.

Let’s start!

Yield 11 inch tart pan

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 1/2 bag 7 oz. of amaretti cookies, crumbs

8-9 tablespoons of melted butter, cooled

For the filling:

5 egg yolks

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons of limoncello liqueur

5 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of lemon zest

For decorating:

Lemon zest

Fresh blueberries

whipped cream (optional)

Instructions:

For the crust:

1.- Heat oven to 35o F.

2.- Butter your pan VERY LIGHTLY. The cookie crust already has butter but if you want to make sure the tart will come out perfectly, it’s better to take caution and butter the pan just a little bit.

3.- In a small bowl mix the cookie crumbs with melted butter.

4.-Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the tart pan. It doesn’t have to be perfect. If it gets too sticky, rinse your hands with water and try again. Place  the tart on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 7 minutes, then let it cool down.

For the filling:

1.-In a big bowl, mix egg yolks, condensed milk, lemon juice, limoncello and zest. Mix until creamy. Pour into pan and bake for about 20 minutes until it’s firmed but not overcooked.

2.-Let it cool on a wire rack and then completely cool tart in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

You can decorate it with blueberries, lemon zest and whipped cream.

This dessert is perfect for Summer days, don’t forget to share!

Enjoy!