Don't be bitter, enjoy a Lemon Tart!

While living in Buffalo, Brian and I have become very tired of the long winter months.  We were excited to welcome Spring with opened arms when low and behold, it snowed.  Apparently Spring doesn't exist in Buffalo.  It's just a buffer between Winter and Summer that says "let me warm you up.... Wait! Gotchya!"  So, in thinking warm thoughts, allow me to introduce to you the Lemon Tart.

It was a request per Brian because he is cup caked out; which is understandable.  I just have a hard time staying away from them.  I was going to attempt to do more than one flavor, but since this was my first attempt at a tart I figured one is safe.  I found the recipe for both the crust and filling in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  There were about 3 pages of tart recipes to choose from, but I chose this specific one (the filling) because it had less than 5 ingredients and was easy to make.  So first things first.  Here is what you will need for one tart crust OR 5 mini tart crusts:

1 1/4 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of shortening
and 3-6 Tablespoons of water (I only got through 2 1/2 to get the consistency I wanted)

Here is what you do:
Using either a mixer or your own spoon, mix together the flour and salt in a medium sized bowl.  It should only take about 5 seconds.  Once that is blended together, add the shortening and mix until it resembles crumbs/peas.  Then add the water one table spoon at a time until it begins to form a ball.  You can test to see if it's finished by touching the dough to see if it is sticky. 
Now the fun begins!  To make 5 mini tarts, take about a fist full of dough and roll it around with your hands a little bit.  Then flatten it out on a lightly floured surface (very lightly floured) and using a rolling pin, spread the dough out into a 5-6 inch circle.  Carefully lift the dough over the tart/tort pan and lay it down. 

Lightly push down the dough into the pan and up against the edges.  If the dough is short on one side don't worry.  You'll have extra dough that you can fill in the gaps with, or at least you should.  This is what it should look like pre-filling:

Repeat with another fist full of dough until all of it is gone.  If you are making one tart, use one large tart pan instead of 5 mini, and roll the tart dough into a 12-13 inch circle.  Place it over the pan and press it gently against the bottom and the sides. 
That is it for the dough.  Easy, right?  There is no need to bake the crust before the filling.  It will bake all together.  Now onto the filling.  You will need:

4 egg yolks
1, 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
and 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (don't forget to scoop out the seeds!)
You can also add drops of food coloring if you wish.  I added one, but the filling is already a shade of yellow so I didn't want to add to much.

Steps:
Whisk the four egg yolks together.  Once they are pretty well blended, add the condensed milk while still whisking.  Then add the lemon zest and lemon juice.  Whisk everything together until well blended.  The mixture may be thick but that's OK.  If it's to thin (like water) that is when you worry.  Pour the mixture into each tart shell about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full.  Then bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.  Let them cool then store in the refrigerator until ready to eat!

Enjoy!