My favorite Meyer lemons

I very much enjoyed the Lemon Confit Shortbread Tart from the New York Times, although it wasn't to everyone's taste. Although preserved Meyer lemons are delicious, it almost strikes me as a waste of their Meyeriness to salt them to death and then just cook them with chicken -- though now that I think about it, the Meyer aroma does come through.

The amount of shortbread seemed like a lot to me, but it's necessary in order to muffle the lemons, which tend to shout otherwise.

To make the crust, mix 3 cups flour, 1 tsp lavender salt, 1 cup sugar, and 2 sticks butter in a bowl, until it forms flaky crumbs. Throw in 1 egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 2 tbsp lemon juice, and mix until it starts clumping together. Refrigerate.

Thinly slice 7-8 Meyer lemons, minus the ends, and toss with 3/4 cup sugar. Marinate for a couple of hours. Then bring to boil in a saucepan, and cook down until the lemons are candied and the remaining liquid is somewhat syrupy, about 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into halves and roll them out to a little over 9 inches in diameter. Place one in the bottom of a 9-inch tart pan. Pour the confit over and spread it around. Top with the other half of the dough. Bake at 350F for about 35 minutes. Dust the top with 1/4 cup sugar and return to the oven for about ten more minutes, until the top gets a bit brown. I threw mine under the broiler for a bit too long -- it got dark brown in spots, but the sugar turned out nicely crunchy.