Recipe: Three Kinds of Tartlet

Okay, so you've probably all heard far more than you want to about our Sunday open houses, which start as soon as the weather is reliably decent enough for outdoor activity on a regular basis and end when the weather becomes uncooperative.  Well, we had a weekend recently where I did not expect there to be a Sunday open house.  There had been an event the previous day where most of the attendees would have been, the weather was chilly, and I'd specifically asked my husband to cancel it just in case.  Since there wasn't supposed to be an open house, I didn't plan for anything to eat at the open house.

I was fine with there being no open house.  One of the side effects of pregnancy that no one warns you about before you start down this road is that standing for long periods of time becomes a Very Bad Idea.  I'd gone for an overly long hike with the dog on Thursday that left me worried about random dislocations.  Friday I'd spent a lot of time in the kitchen.  Saturday I went to that event I mentioned, which was entirely on one's feet for many, many hours.  So on Sunday I was feeling very enthusiastic about not working, about sitting (rather, reclining pathetically) and letting my lower body think I loved it again.  Then my husband checked his email and said, "Oh, we're getting so and so and so and so."  He had never cancelled the Open House. 

I racked my brain for something that I could do to offer people some food - something, anything.  It wasn't going to be a full meal by any stretch of the imagination, but I can't have people coming over and not have something to offer them.  Both of my grandmothers would rise from the grave and chastise me severely.  Well, everyone likes sweets, right?  And tartlets are relatively easy.  What did I have on hand?  Well, I had some almond butter, some jam, some nuts, some chocolate.  I whipped up a batch of the MacLean Pie Crust (which I can't post here because I don't know who to properly cite) and found that it filled ten tartlet pans.  (The MacLean makes two crusts for normal 9" pies.)  I had just enough almond butter to make half of the filling for the Cashew Butter Pie that I shamelessly borrowed from Alton Brown.  Half of the filling for that (obviously with almond butter in place of the cashew) filled four tartlets.  I'd been dying to find a proper use for the Muraba-e-Saib I'd made recently, so I used some to fill three of the tartlet cases.  Finally, I remembered the pistachio pie I made over a year ago.  I decided to reprise that, only without the rosewater as the apple filling already contained rosewater. 

The tartlets were a real hit, and almost made up for the fact that I was barely able to walk the next day.  You can try this with whatever fillings you like; even the canned fillings from the store, if that's what you have. 

Three Kinds of Tartlet (makes 10 tartlets; approx. cost per serving not available)

1 double crust pie crust recipe of your choice, or frozen pie dough

For the Chocolate-Almond Tartlets (4 tartlets)

3/4 cup smooth almond butter

1 1/2 ounces powdered sugar

1 ounce butter

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 ounce dark chocolate chunks

1/8 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon heavy cream

For the Pistachio Tartlets (3 tartlets)

2 eggs

1/2 cup wildflower honey

1/2 stick butter

3/4 cup shelled pistachios

1 teaspoon cardamom

For the Muraba-e-Saib Tartlets (3 tartlets)

1 cup (approx.) Muraba-e-Saib

Equipment:

• 10 tartlet pans
• Mini-prep food processor
• Aluminum foil
• Pie weights or dried beans
• 2 small saucepans
• Baking sheet
• Mixing bowl

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Divide your pie crusts into 10 equal parts, then use your fingers to press each part into a tartlet pan.  Line the entire pan with the dough. 
3. Line the cases with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.  Bake 10 minutes, then remove from the oven.  (I probably don't have to tell you this, but do this on the baking sheet.)
4. Combine the almond butter, powdered sugar and butter in the mini-prep food processor.  Process until well combined. 
5. Add the almond extract and process some more.
6. Fill four of the tartlet cases with the food processor mixture.  Bake 10 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool.
8. Meanwhile, fill three of the tartlet cases with muraba-e-saib. 
9. Bake 10 - 15 minutes, then remove and let cool. 
10. Meanwhile, put the eggs in the mixing bowl and beat thoroughly. 
11. Heat the honey and the cardamom in one of the small saucepans with the 1/2 stick of butter.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until all the butter is melted. 
12. Pour carefully into the mixing bowl, stirring all the while.  Try very hard not to let the eggs scramble. 
13. Add the pistachios and mix well.
14. Fill three of the tartlet cases with this mixture.  Bake 20 - 30 minutes, or until set.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
15. When the four almond butter tartlets are cool, heat the cream to a bare simmer in the second small saucepan. 
16. Add the chocolate.  Remove from heat and stir constantly until all of the chocolate is melted. 
17. Pour the ganache over the four almond butter tartlets. 
18. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving. 
19. Arrange the tartlets on a platter and serve. 

Comments

[Angie@Angie's Recipes]

These tartlets look absolutely heavenly!

[The Duo Dishes]

That cashew butter pie you mentioned sounds out of this world. Love how you offered such variety of sweets.