Queen of Tarts

Nope, not referring to my moral outlook by that title...

I’m talking about the melt-in-your-mouth, raspberry-filled heart-shaped pastries that are a perfect treat at Valentine’s Day. I bake up a batch and share them with the coworkers who so stalwartly endure the TPS reports and Dunder-Mifflinisms of modern office life all year. And this year, I thought I would share this easy recipe with you nice people.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 jar raspberry or strawberry jam

• 4-inch heart-shaped tart pans (you can do this with muffin tins or any other tart pan, but for Valentine’s Day, the hearts just seem more festive. Also, the bakeware is just cute.)

Ingredients for Cookie Tart Pastry:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 2/3 cup margarine or butter, softened

• 1 egg

Just to give you a sense of perspective, each batch o’ dough makes about two large tarts. (So, yes, to make them en masse, this involves a bit of work-- which is why I only do it a max of once a year; my oven really SHOULD bear a magnet that reads, “I’d Rather Be Crafting”)

Instructions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease tart pans lightly with margarine. Mix all ingredients for Cookie Tart Pastry until dough forms. Press firmly, evenly and thickly against bottom and side of tart pan (If the dough is too thin, it will be hard to remove the baked item from the pan and it’ll, um, break your heart. Poke with fork thoroughly to prevent dough from puffing.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown; cool. Remove from tart pan carefully. Fill with raspberry jam and enjoy!


PS-- I got my tart pans at TJ Maxx and Marshalls, though many kitchen stores will have them.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody!