Almond Amaretto Tarts Recipes

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon almond extract with electric mixer on medium speed 1 minute. Gradually add flour, beating 1 to 2 minutes just until blended. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour until thoroughly chilled.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Divide pastry into 48 pieces. Gently press pastry onto bottom and side of 48 ungreased mini muffin cups.
• Place almonds in food processor or blender; cover and process until almonds are finely ground. In medium bowl, mix almonds and remaining filling ingredients with spoon. Spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons filling into each tart crust. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and centers spring back when touched lightly. Cool 5 minutes; gently remove tarts from pan to wire rack. Cool 30 minutes.
• In chilled small bowl, beat 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1 tablespoon sugar with on high speed until soft peaks form.
• Place 1 teaspoon whipped cream and 1 raspberry on each tart.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, almonds, and ground cookies; set aside.
• Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Sprinkle over confectioners' sugar and toss, using your hands, until butter is fully coated. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until butter and sugar are well combined.
• Scrape down sides of bowl, add egg yolk, and continue beating until combined. Reduce speed to medium-low and slowly add the flour mixture; beat until well combined. Scrape down sides of bowl and add heavy cream and amaretto; beat until well combined. Form dough into a large ball using your hands. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 hours.
• Lightly flour a work surface. Turn dough out onto floured work surface and cut into 8 pieces. Gently knead each piece of dough into a smooth disc, using a spatula to turn dough, as it will be sticky. Add more flour to work surface if necessary. Cover each piece with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough until chilled, about 10 minutes.
• Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch round, about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer each round to a 4-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and gently press into tart pan. Roll a rolling pin over each tart shell, pressing lightly to trim any excess dough; discard.
• Place tart pans on a baking sheet and gently prick the bottom of each tart pan with a fork; transfer baking sheet to refrigerator and chill 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake tart shells until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Remove from oven and let cook completely.

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Liberally butter the tart pan.
• For the crust: Combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, almonds, cocoa powder and sugar in a food processor. Process until the almonds are finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms a coarse meal. With the processor running, gradually add 2 tablespoons of iced water until the mixture forms a ball, adding extra water, as needed, if the mixture is too dry. Form the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Roll out the dough into a 10-inch circle on a lightly floured work surface. Place the dough in the tart pan and trim any excess dough from the top of the pan. If the dough cracks, press scraps of dough into the cracks to seal. Prick the dough all over, using a fork, and bake for 15 minutes. Let the crust cool for 15 minutes.
• For the filling: Place the chocolate and butter in a small bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Beat the eggs, liqueur, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour the melted chocolate into the egg mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake until the filing has set and begins to crack slightly on top, 22 to 25 minutes. Allow the tart to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• For the apricot cream: Beat the cream at high speed until stiff peaks form, using a hand mixer. Add the jam and vanilla. Beat until the jam is incorporated into the cream.
• Remove the tart from the pan and cut into thin wedges. Serve with a dollop of apricot cream.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut a 3/4-inch wide strip off each side of the pastry and reserve. Roll out the pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface to a 10-inch square. Brush the edges of the square with the egg. Working with 1 strip at a time, stand the strips along the edges of the pastry square and crimp where they meet. You want to create a shallow box, where the pastry square is the base and the 4 strips are the walls. Overlap the strips at the corners, stretching them if necessary to complete the walls of the box. Brush the border with the egg. Pierce the center of the pastry all over with fork. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks. With the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks. Add the liqueur and beat until just well blended; be careful not to overmix or the whipped cream will turn into a buttery consistency and start to separate. Using a large spatula, fold in the nuts. Spoon the cream mixture into the prepared pastry crust. Arrange the berries over the cream. Sift the cocoa powder over and serve.
• NOTE: You can use any fruit that's in season (orange segments, berries, plums, bananas, grapes). Blueberries make a good substitute for the raspberries, and sliced peaches or nectarines are delicious as well.

Steps:

• Preheat broiler, if using.
• Remove tart shells from tart pans and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Divide lemon curd evenly between tart shells.
• Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop meringue and place on top of lemon curd, dividing equally. Spread meringue out toward the edges of each tart. Place tarts under broiler until meringue is just browned. Alternatively, use a kitchen torch to brown the tops of each tart.
• Sprinkle crushed cookies over the top of each tart. These are best when served within 24 hours.

Steps:

• Prepare the crust: Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. Butter a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk to combine flour, sugar, and salt. In a small glass measuring cup, stir together butter, vanilla, and 1/2 tablespoon water; pour over flour mixture. Stir to combine. With floured hands, press dough into prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove tart shell from oven, and reduce heat to 350 degrees.
• Prepare the filling: In a large bowl, stir together almonds, heavy cream, sugar, egg, almond extract, Grand Marnier, and salt. Pour filling into crust. Bake tart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet until golden brown, about 45 minutes.