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:



 

Peace, and bacon grease!