Fresh Strawberry Tarts

• 
  
  Tried this new tart recipe and it was amazing!  
  I sent some home with my friend Joyce for her husband to enjoy since he had been off work for health issues...
  She messaged me to say the tarts made him come right up off the couch...better than pain meds she stated!  
  I don't think there's a better endorsement than that! 
  
  
  Fresh Strawberry Tarts
  
  Crust:
  4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  1 stick butter, room temperature
  pinch of salt
  1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups plain flour
  
  Filling:
  1 cup strawberries
  1/4 cup sugar
  2 tsp vanilla
  1 TBSP cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 TBSP water
  glaze or confectioner's sugar--optional

Place the cream cheese, butter and 1 1/4 cups 
of plain flour into your mixing bowl.  
With the dough hook, knead it to form a dough- 
there should be enough butter and cream cheese to have it come together but add a little more of the flour if you need it;
 you may need to add another 2 tablespoons or so. 

Roll into a ball and press into a circle -as flat as you can get it to make rolling it easier, and cover with cling wrap.  
Place in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.

 Meanwhile, make the strawberry filling 
so that it will cool before filling the pies.  
Wash the strawberries and hull them and 
chop them into small pieces. 

In a saucepan on medium heat, 
add the strawberries and sugar and simmer.  
You shouldn't need any extra liquid as the strawberries release plenty but just stir it to make sure that the sugar 
doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan.

Simmer for about 15 minutes until the strawberries are soft.  Remove from heat and add the vanilla and cinnamon. 
While the mixture is still hot but not boiling, 
add the cornstarch and cold water mixture,  stirring to thicken it.   Allow to cool.

When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees 
and line a baking tray with parchment paper. 
Remove the pastry from the fridge and 
flour a clean surface and rolling pin. 

Roll out the pastry quite thinly and cut using a 
5 inch round pastry cutter that has been dipped in flour. 

 Fill each pie with a tablespoon of cooled filling 
and pinch to seal up the sides.

Brush the egg over the tops of the pies and 

bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. 

Dust with powdered sugar or make a glaze with 

powdered sugar and a bit of milk and brush it on the hot pies.

**********
The delicious ingredients...

 With the mixer and dough hook mix the dough ingredients...

Wrap it in parchment paper and refrigerate it for about 1 hour...

 Now let's make the filling...

Sorry about the blurry strawberries :/

 

 Bring the sugar and strawberries to a simmer
 and let cook about 15 minutes...



Add the vanilla...

The cinnamon...

The cornstarch mixture and stir well...

I poured it in another bowl so that it could cool completely..

I lined my baking pan with parchment paper..

I rolled the dough really thin...

I cut them in about 5" rounds with a large lid that I had...

Put about 2 TBSP fruit filling in the middle...

I sealed the edges with a fork...

Brushed them with the egg...

Look at how beautifully they baked!
Next time, I will try to roll up the edges to create 
a better sealed edge 
so that more of the filling will stay contained...

Brush the hot pastries with a glaze of powdered sugar and milk...

Enjoy!!

You can also make these with apples, peaches 

or whatever fresh or frozen fruit you have a surplus of! 

This crust is also wonderful with savory fillings.