Butter Tartlets.
Okay, I didn’t end up making the butter tart pockets, but these little butter tartlets are quite nice. They’re a little time-consuming, with the waiting for the pastry and all that, but they’re definitely worth it.
Make Shortcrust Pastry:
1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon (14 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 cup (113 grams) butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.54 cm) pieces
1/8 to 1/4 cup (30 – 60 ml) ice water
Combine flour, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter until it looks like coarse meal. (I don’t know why they say that, since I don’t know what coarse meal actually looks like. Cut it in a lot, anyway). Add the ice water and squish it together only enough to form a ball, don’t let it warm up very much or work it more than you have to. Form it in a ball and stick it in the fridge under plastic wrap for an hour.
After an hour, take the ball out and roll it out on a floured surface to about 1/4 an inch thick. Cut circles with a shot glass.
Mold the circles into cups and place them on baking sheets. Refrigerate them for another half-hour. Meanwhile, make the filling.
Butter Tart Filling
1large egg
1/4 cup (70 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup (215 grams) light brown sugar
1/8 cup (60 ml) light cream (half-and-half) (10% butterfat)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup raisins, chopped.
Over medium heat, combine egg, butter, sugar, and cream. Whisk it constantly, and bring it just to a boil. Then take it off the heat and mix the vanilla and raisins in.
Preheat the oven to 350 and use a teaspoon to put the filling into the tartlets. Bake for 13-15 minutes.
Yield: About 35 bite-sized butter tartlets.
By Beth, December 10, 2007 @ 7:55 am
I am totally making these, once the holidays arrive.
By Liz, December 10, 2007 @ 10:25 pm
A warning: You might want to double the recipe. These are way too easy to munch on!