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March 14, 2013

Mini Almond Tarts

Hey there loves.

 























I'm taking a break from the St. Patty's Day fun to bring you a little delight (literally, little).

 























You guys know I'm a little obsessed with blogging challenges. I'm back for Sheryl's Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge, and this month is all about ALMOND PASTE and PASTRY DOUGH. My first reaction? What the? I had no clue what almond paste was, and I've never made homemade pastry dough or anything like that. But with a little guidance from Sheryl, I was able to easily find almond paste in my grocery store, and she assured me that some of my possible recipes qualified as dough since they had flour. Ok cool, I got this then.

 


And thus came my first experience using almond paste. Mine came in a can, and when I opened it, it smelled like dessert heaven. I knew that something that smelled so good must taste equally as good, so I had no worries. 

























Don't you just love mini things? I do. It means I can eat more of them and not feel as bad. And these Mini Almond Tarts I decided to make are the perfect size to pop in my mouth. 

 























I made half the recipe, which yielded 2 dozen mini tarts. I was surprised at how much we liked it too! My neighbor caught me snapping pictures on my front porch, so I offered her one also and she too enjoyed it! 
























Mini Almond Tarts
from Taste of Home 

*Yields: 2 dozen

Dough
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour 
Filling
  • 3 oz almond paste, crumbled (I used Solo brand)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup sugar
Frosting   
  • 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1.5 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 2-3 teaspoons milk
  • maraschino cherry halves (24 halves)
In a large bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add flour until well blended. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 

Shape into 1-inch balls. Place in ungreased miniature muffin cups; press onto the bottom and up the sides to form a shell. 

For filling, in a small bowl, beat the almond paste, egg and sugar until blended. Fill each shell with about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons filling. 

Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. 

For frosting, combine the confectioners sugar, butter and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Pipe or spread over tarts. Top each with a cherry half. 


Printable Recipe




 





















Adorbs. AND scrumptious. 

It's a win win.


Check out what everyone else made in the blog hop below:

Lady Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge


 

Peace, and bacon grease!


20 comments:

Tanya-Lemonsforlulu.com said...

You and I totally think alike!! Love your pictures Desi!!! Yum!

Maria Asay said...

These do look adorable and scrumptious! Great job!

Kathy Walker said...

What adorable little bites! I doubt that I could eat just one...I mean, it's almond paste...that just says it all!!

Rasmussen Family said...

yum! i wouldn't be able to stop at just one...:)

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Such cute AND scrumptious mini tarts! Beautifully done, Desi!

Anonymous said...

These look delicious! Glad to be a part of the ALmond Paste / Dough challenge with you!! :) - Claire (you may not be able to reply to this - it's a Blogger to Word Press issue.) :( But I love your entry - yum!

Anonymous said...

Oh I love these, they look so cute!

The Ninja Baker said...

LOL! Peace, and Bacon Grease!

Appreciate your signature, Desi.

Your Mini Almond Tarts are pretty spectacular, too.
I am a fan of mini treats as witnessed by my Dessert Challenge of Petite Almond Puffs.

Lady Behind The Curtain said...

What a great recipe! Thanks so much for participating in Behind The Curtain Dessert Challenge. I'll see you again next month with Caramel and Pretzels! YUM! ~Sheryl @ Lady Behind The Curtain~

Priceless Heritage said...

These look amazingly yummy! Thanks for sharing.

Oombawka Design said...

These look amazing! Thanks so much for sharing :)

Anonymous said...

Ha! I can just envision you snapping pictures on your front porch. Sometimes I do mine out on my deck and I always think that my neighbors must think I'm crazy and wonder what I'm doing, the ones who don't know about my blog :) And I looove mini anything so these little tarts are making my heart pitter patter. Love the pairing of a little cherry with the almond tart. Lovely!

Julie said...

It looks delicious! Thanks You for sharing this with Show Your Stuff.

Miz Helen said...

Have a great St. Patrick’s Day and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen

Ginger@gingersnapcrafts.com said...

Featuring YOU today! Thank you so much for linking up to {wow me} wednesday!

Ginger @ GingerSnapCrafts.com

http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2013/03/20-roll-muffin-pastry-recipes-link.html

Dawn said...

YUM pinned this one.
Thanks for sharing with us at "In and Out of the Kitchen"

April said...

I featured these yummy tarts as one of my favorites this week.

Thank you so much for linking this up at Saturday Spotlight! The new link party is up and I’d love to see you back. Have a great week. :)

http://angelshomestead.com/saturday-spotlight-9/

April

Unknown said...

Thanks for Sharing on Show Me Your Plaid Monday's!

boulevardsg said...
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sheyne said...

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