diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7f2bf79..6100723 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,8 +1,13 @@
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [1.0.0] - 2023-12-28
+
+- `jwk_loader/test` for convenience for testing without external dependencies. [#6](https://github.com/anakinj/jwk-loader/pull/6) ([@anakinj](https://github.com/anakinj))
+- Serialize the cached key sets into `JWT::JWK:Set` to avoid generating OpenSSL PKeys for each time the keys are used. [#6](https://github.com/anakinj/jwk-loader/pull/6) ([@anakinj](https://github.com/anakinj))
+
 ## [0.1.1] - 2022-08-26
 
-- make sure 'net/http' is required [#1](https://github.com/anakinj/jwk-loader/pull/2) ([@lukad](https://github.com/lukad)).
+- make sure 'net/http' is required [#2](https://github.com/anakinj/jwk-loader/pull/2) ([@lukad](https://github.com/lukad)).
 
 ## [0.1.0] - 2022-07-06
 
diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index d23a666..d72a67d 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -11,5 +11,3 @@ gem "rubocop", "~> 1.32.0"
 gem "simplecov"
 gem "vcr"
 gem "webmock"
-
-gem "jwt"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 159a73e..af887cf 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -16,13 +16,34 @@ If bundler is not being used to manage dependencies, install the gem by executin
 
 ### Using as a jwks loader when decoding JWT tokens
 
-```
+```ruby
 require "jwt"
 require "jwk-loader"
 
 JWT.decode(token, nil, true, algorithm: "RS512", jwks: JwkLoader.for_uri(uri: "https://url/to/public/jwks") )
 ```
 
+### Testing endpoints protected by JWT tokens
+
+When testing HTTP endpoints protected by asymmetric JWT keys the mechanism in `jwk_loader/test` can be used to simplify the process.
+
+```ruby
+require 'jwk_loader/test'
+
+RSpec.describe 'GET /protected' do
+  include JwkLoader::Test
+
+  context 'when called with a valid token' do
+    let(:token) { sign_test_token(token_payload: { user_id: 'user' }, jwk_endpoint: 'https://url/to/public/jwks') }
+    subject(:response) { get('/protected', { 'HTTP_AUTHORIZATION' => "Bearer #{token}" }) }
+
+    it 'is a success' do
+      expect(response.status).to eq(200)
+    end
+  end
+end
+```
+
 ### Configuring the gem
 
 ```ruby
@@ -45,6 +66,7 @@ JwkLoader.configure do |config|
 end
 ```
 
+
 ## Development
 
 After checking out the repo, run `bundle install` to install dependencies. Then, run `bundle exec rspec` to run the tests. You can also run `bin/console` for an interactive prompt that will allow you to experiment.
diff --git a/jwk-loader.gemspec b/jwk-loader.gemspec
index 79bd535..0338dcf 100644
--- a/jwk-loader.gemspec
+++ b/jwk-loader.gemspec
@@ -32,4 +32,5 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
   spec.executables = spec.files.grep(%r{\Aexe/}) { |f| File.basename(f) }
   spec.require_paths = ["lib"]
   spec.add_dependency "concurrent-ruby"
+  spec.add_dependency "jwt", "~> 2.6"
 end
diff --git a/lib/jwk-loader.rb b/lib/jwk-loader.rb
index d63df67..f59dd93 100644
--- a/lib/jwk-loader.rb
+++ b/lib/jwk-loader.rb
@@ -15,17 +15,27 @@ def for_uri(**options)
       JwksUriProvider.new(**options)
     end
 
+    def cache
+      config[:cache]
+    end
+
     def configure
       yield config
     end
 
-    private
-
     def config
       @config ||= JwkLoader::Config.new.tap do |cfg|
         cfg[:cache] = MemoryCache.new
         cfg[:cache_grace_period] = 900
       end
     end
+
+    def reset!
+      @config = nil
+    end
+
+    def memory_store
+      @memory_store ||= MemoryCache.new
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/jwk_loader/jwks.rb b/lib/jwk_loader/jwks.rb
index d406dd3..dd778af 100644
--- a/lib/jwk_loader/jwks.rb
+++ b/lib/jwk_loader/jwks.rb
@@ -14,6 +14,10 @@ def from_uri(uri)
         from_json(response.body)
       end
 
+      def from_memory(uri)
+        JwkLoader.memory_store.fetch(uri)
+      end
+
       def from_json(jwks_json)
         JSON.parse(jwks_json, symbolize_names: true)
       end
diff --git a/lib/jwk_loader/jwks_uri_provider.rb b/lib/jwk_loader/jwks_uri_provider.rb
index b51d48a..00e2229 100644
--- a/lib/jwk_loader/jwks_uri_provider.rb
+++ b/lib/jwk_loader/jwks_uri_provider.rb
@@ -1,10 +1,6 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
 module JwkLoader
-  def self.cache
-    @cache ||= MemoryCache.new
-  end
-
   class JwksUriProvider
     attr_reader :uri, :cache, :cache_grace_period
 
@@ -22,7 +18,7 @@ def call(options)
     private
 
     def jwks
-      from_cache || from_uri
+      from_cache || from_memory || from_uri
     end
 
     def invalidate_cache!
@@ -35,12 +31,17 @@ def from_cache
       cache_entry&.fetch(:jwks)
     end
 
+    def from_memory
+      JwkLoader::Jwks.from_memory(uri)
+    end
+
     def cache_entry
       cache.fetch(uri)
     end
 
     def from_uri
-      JwkLoader::Jwks.from_uri(uri).tap do |jwks|
+      data = JwkLoader::Jwks.from_uri(uri)
+      JWT::JWK::Set.new(data).tap do |jwks|
         cache.store(uri, jwks: jwks, fetched_at: Time.now)
       end
     end
diff --git a/lib/jwk_loader/test.rb b/lib/jwk_loader/test.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5934a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/jwk_loader/test.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+module JwkLoader
+  module Test
+    def generate_signing_key(algorithm:)
+      case algorithm
+      when "RS256", "RS384", "RS512"
+        OpenSSL::PKey::RSA.new(2048)
+      when "ES256"
+        OpenSSL::PKey::EC.generate("prime256v1")
+      else
+        raise "Unsupported algorithm: #{algorithm}"
+      end
+    end
+
+    def test_signing_key_for(jwk_endpoint:, algorithm: "RS512")
+      key_set = JwkLoader.memory_store.fetch(jwk_endpoint)
+
+      if key_set.nil?
+        key_set = JWT::JWK::Set.new([generate_signing_key(algorithm: algorithm)])
+        JwkLoader.memory_store.store(jwk_endpoint, key_set)
+      end
+
+      key_set.first
+    end
+
+    def sign_test_token(token_payload:, jwk_endpoint:, algorithm: "RS512")
+      key = test_signing_key_for(jwk_endpoint: jwk_endpoint, algorithm: algorithm)
+      JWT.encode(token_payload, key.signing_key, algorithm, kid: key[:kid])
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/jwk_loader/version.rb b/lib/jwk_loader/version.rb
index 1cb6562..01786a9 100644
--- a/lib/jwk_loader/version.rb
+++ b/lib/jwk_loader/version.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
 module JwkLoader
-  VERSION = "0.1.1"
+  VERSION = "1.0.0"
 end
diff --git a/spec/jwk_loader/test_spec.rb b/spec/jwk_loader/test_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..453e239
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/jwk_loader/test_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+require "jwk_loader/test"
+
+RSpec.describe JwkLoader::Test do
+  subject(:test_context) do
+    Class.new do
+      include JwkLoader::Test
+    end.new
+  end
+
+  describe "#sign_test_token" do
+    context "when asked to sign a payload" do
+      it "returns a signed token that can be verified" do
+        token = test_context.sign_test_token(token_payload: {},
+                                             jwk_endpoint: "https://example.com/.well-known/jwks.json",
+                                             algorithm: "RS512")
+        expect(token).to be_a(String)
+        decoded_token = JWT.decode(token, nil, true, algorithm: "RS512", jwks: JwkLoader.for_uri(uri: "https://example.com/.well-known/jwks.json"))
+        expect(decoded_token.first).to eq({})
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
index 5786213..5827f77 100644
--- a/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@
     c.syntax = :expect
   end
 
-  config.before(:each) do
-    ::JwkLoader.cache.clear
+  config.after(:each) do
+    ::JwkLoader.reset!
   end
 end