Mini Cranberry Shortbread Tarts Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour and mix well. , Shape into 1-in. balls; press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups. , Bake at 300° for 17-22 minutes or until set. Cool for 15 minutes before carefully removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Spoon 1 teaspoon of pie filling into each tart.

Steps:

• Make the crust: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Put hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until skins darken and crack. Put roasted nuts in a clean towel and rub off skins. Discard skins and let nuts cool.
• In a food processor, grind nuts with half the rice flour until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add remaining rice flour and salt and pulse briefly.
• Cream sugar and butter in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon for a minute or two until pale and thick. Add nut mixture and combine until dough comes together. If it seems crumbly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons softened butter or a little cold water.
• Press dough evenly into a 10-inch tart pan; use half the dough for the sides and half for the bottom. Prick bottom with a fork and freeze for 30 minutes (or several days if desired).
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake chilled tart shell about 15 minutes until lightly brown. Cool.
• While the crust bakes and cools, make the cranberry curd: Put cranberries, sugar and orange juice and peel in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until cranberries have popped and softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food mill or medium mesh sieve and press cooking liquid and solids into a bowl. (Alternatively, for the most vibrant color, purée the cooked cranberry and orange mixture with an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender. Press through a fine-mesh sieve.) Whisk the butter into the warm liquid.
• Put eggs and egg yolks into a bowl and beat lightly. Slowly whisk a cup of warm cranberry liquid into the eggs to temper, then combine both and whisk together. Wipe out pot if necessary, return liquid to pot and cook over low heat until nearly bubbling and thickened, about 10 minutes. If using immediately, let cool to room temperature. If working ahead, cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap (press wrap against curd) and refrigerate. (Curd may be cooked up to 1 day ahead.)
• Pour cooled cranberry curd into the cooled prebaked tart shell and smooth top with a spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes to set curd. Cool on a rack. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Steps:

• Shortbread Shells:.
• In a large bowl whisk together the flour and sugar.
• Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or 2 knives until you have coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces.
• In a small bowl whisk egg, vanilla, and water together and drizzle over the flour, tossing with a fork until the dough holds together.
• Gather into a ball and turn out onto a floured surface.
• Flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refidgerate for about an hour (can be made upto 2 days ahead).
• On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness.
• Using a 2 1/4 inch round cookie cutter, cut out 36 pieces, rerolling scraps.
• Fit into mini muffin tin and freeze for 30 minutes.
• Filling:.
• Preheat Oven to 350 degrees For 180 degrees Celsius.
• In a medium bowl mix together sugar, corn syrup,egg, butter, orange rind and juice, and salt.
• Stir in cranberries and walnuts.
• Spoon the mixture into shells.
• Bake in the bottom 1/3 of oven until the filling is puffed and pastry is golden.
• Let cool on a rack for one minute and then run a metal spatula to loosen.
• Using a metal spatual tranfer tarts to cooling rack.
• Store layered with wax paper in an airtight container for 3 days.
• These can be frozen up to 2 weeks.

Steps:

• To make the crust, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Spread almonds onto a rimmed baking sheet.
• Toast almonds in the preheated oven until fragrant and skins have cracked, about 15 minutes. Let cool, about 5 minutes.
• Combine almonds, flour, brown sugar, salt, ginger, and cloves in a food processor; pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 12 (1-second) pulses. Add softened butter and pulse until combined, about 5 (1-second) pulses.
• Press dough into a 10-inch tart pan, using about two thirds for the sides and one third for the bottom. Prick the bottom with a fork and freeze for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 week.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake chilled crust in the preheated oven until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• To make curd, combine cranberries, brown sugar, orange liqueur, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have burst and are very soft, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Strain back into saucepan through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on solids in strainer. Whisk softened butter into cranberry liquid.
• Whisk eggs and egg yolks in a separate small bowl until lightened. Slowly whisk about 1 cup of the warm cranberry mixture into the eggs. Add egg-cranberry mixture to remaining cranberry mixture in saucepan, whisking constantly. Place saucepan back over medium-low and cook, whisking constantly, until bubbly and thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in orange zest. If using immediately, pour into a shallow dish and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. If making ahead, cool to room temperature and then cover with plastic wrap pressed tightly to the curd's surface before refrigerating.
• Pour cooled cranberry curd into prebaked crust and smooth top with an offset spatula. Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine sugar, lemon juice, eggs, flour, and lemon zest for filling together in a large mixing bowl, and whisk until well blended. Set aside.
• Combine flour, butter, sugar, and salt for crust in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times, until the dough begins to come together in a ball.
• Divide the dough into 6 equal portions, placing dough portions in each well of a nonstick 6-well mini tart pan. Press dough over the bottom of each well and up the sides.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the filling is set and the crust is lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack until mini tarts reach room temperature.

Steps:

• Tarts:.
• Lightly spray 30 mini muffin tins, set aside.
• Preheat oven 325 degrees f. Place rack in center.
• Cream butter and sugar for about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add flour, cornstarch or rice flour, and salt and mix just until incorporated.
• Roll dough into about 30 balls and place in each muffin tin. With your fingers, press the dough up the sides of the individual muffin tins and to make an indentation in the center.
• Once filled, place the pan with the shells in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. (this will help prevent the shortbread from puffing up).
• Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. About halfway through the baking time, lightly prick each shortbread with tines of a fork to keep them from puffing up.
• Place the pan on a wire rack to cool.
• When completely cooled, remove the tarts. They are quite fragile so be careful when removing. (Use a toothpick and loosen the edges to remove).
• Filling:.
• (Making the filling a day ahead will allow the flavors to set in better).
• Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add the condensed milk, lemon juice, vanilla and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until serving. You can make the filling serveral days in advance.
• To serve:.
• Fill the tart shells (spoon or pipe) with filling. The filled tarts can be made serveral hours in advance and refrigerated. Just before serving top with fresh berries or cut up fruit.