Tarting It Up with Mini Fruit Tart Cookies!
Ahhh tarts. Fruity concoctions of jams, preserves, butters on a bed of delicious sweet dough. Take them down a size and you’ve got these cookies! Bite-sized delights that, for me, taste like Christmas.
My mom has been making these all my life. It never occurred to me to make them – it has always been her thing. This year I got over it and grabbed Toni (that’s my mom), enlisting her to not only show me this recipe, but to teach me in real time as I create this video!
As I write this, I wondered about her choice of flavors so I gave her a call. She chose prune butter because of the hamantaschen (triangle-shaped pastries made with prune butter) she saw in our local bakery. Her love of cherry preserves and apricot jam made those choices easy. Making a variety of flavors is just an easy way to amplify the flavors and deliciousness!
I have to give a shout out to the prune butter. The only brand I’ve ever seen is Simon Fischer Lekvar Prune Butter. A “lekvar” is is an Eastern European thick jam of pure ripened fruit. There are many flavors but prune is delightful. Yes, prunes get a bad rap and yes, extreme overindulgence can live up to it! Ha! But this dried plum spread is my favorite. The texture and sweet flavor is intoxicating. You’ve got to try it!
Now if you are not a fan of any of these flavors, the joy of this recipe is you can use what you like! Use only one flavor… use only two… rock out four! They make a glorious presentation and are scrumptious! Rolling the dough on sugar adds so much to the overall cookie. A perfect complement to the sweet jammy center.
Being infinitely curious, I looked up the history of the word “tart”: something sour-ish… fruity cakes… and prostitutes – huh? Well it seems that “tart” was believed to be shortening of “sweetheart” and used as a term of endearment. Also “jam-tart” was a term of endearment. But at some point it became slang or code for prostitute. It’s likely some dude would reference seeing his “tart” in mixed company when he was off to the brothel. And it stuck!
It might be too much to say in light of this explanation but I’m doing it! Indulge in these sexy tarts – Ho Ho Ho!
Annette
Tarting It Up with Mini Fruit Tart Cookies!
Ingredients
- • 1-1/2 cup flour
- • 1/4 tsp salt
- • 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- • 3 tbsp water
- • 1 tsp. vanilla
- • 1/4 cup sugar
- • 3 tbsp apricot jam
- • 3 tbsp cherry preserves
- • 3 tbsp prune butter
- • 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
Instructions
- Add flour, salt, butter, water, & vanilla to a bowl and hand mix into a dough. Cut into 3 pieces.
- Liberally sprinkle rolling surface with sugar and roll out 1/8” thick. Using a cookie or biscuit cutter, cut dough into 2” rounds.
- Spoon about a half teaspoon of fruit spread to the center of each round. Bring sides to the center & seal together. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.
4 Comments
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suzanne
December 11, 2019 at 2:56pHorrible….I tried to make the above cookie….there is something terribly wrong with this recipe….something is left out…Why post recipes that are not complete or tested….I wasted my time and ingredients….I can not trust what you publish..
Annette
January 7, 2020 at 2:56pHi Suzanne – I’m so sorry you didn’t have good results. I assure you the recipe is tested and correct. If you’re up for it, I’d love to “bake with you” – pick a time and day and connect on Skype or FaceTime and bake it simultaneously.
Candi
December 9, 2019 at 2:56pI did everything as directed and the filling all oozed out all over the pan while baking. ??? Anyone else have this problem?
Annette
January 7, 2020 at 2:56pHi Candi! Yikes! Maybe it’s a jam brand thing? I believe I used Bonne Marche jams and Lekvar’s Prune Butter. They will tend to ooze a little but not fully out. Did you put a dollop in the middle of spread it out on the dough? I wanna get to the bottom of this! 🙂