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Strawberry Tarts with Shortbread Cookie Crust

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Strawberry Tarts with Shortbread Cookie Crust

Roberta Reynolds
These tarts are the essence of summer berries – simply bound by a flavorful fruit glaze. The shortbread cookie crust couldn’t be easier to make, and adds a nice buttery crunch to this beautiful dessert. Make this in little tart shells, or be more rustic and crumble the crust into crumbs and layer the whole works into small mason jars with a generous bunch whipped cream on top. This is one of those recipes where you can make all the separate parts well ahead of time, but it’s important not to assemble the whole thing until right before serving because the crust has a tendency to soak up the strawberry filling in short order. Parts of this recipe has been roughly adapted from Cooks Illustrated Magazine (www.cooksillustrated.com)
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 8 tarts

Ingredients
  

  • FOR THE PIE FILLING
  • 4 heaping hallocks of fresh strawberries washed and hulled
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon powdered pectin for lower sugar recipes
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • FOR THE SHORTBREAD COOKIE CRUST
  • 1, 10- ounce box of shortbread cookies such as Lorna Dunes
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 5 tablespoons melted butter
  • TOPPING
  • Whipped cream whipped and sweetened, or
  • Ice cream

Instructions
 

  • FOR THE PIE FILLING
  • Cut enough berries in half to equal 2 cups. Process in a food processor or blender until very smooth. You should have 1-¼ cups of puree.
  • In a medium saucepan, combine puree, 1-cup sugar, 1-tablespoon pectin, and pinch of salt. Bring to boil and boil for one minute. Take off the heat, and skim any foam that may have formed on top.
  • Mix the 3 tablespoons cornstarch with ¼ cup cold water until smooth. Add to strawberry mixture and return to boil. Lower heat and simmer for a couple of minutes until mixture becomes pretty clear. It will be very thick. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
  • Reserve ¼ cup of mixture and set aside.
  • Slice 1 quart of remaining strawberries into halves or quarters – whatever you prefer.
  • Fold the sliced berries into the glaze mixture. Go slowly and make sure all the berries are evenly coated with glaze. Refrigerate until cold.
  • Right before serving: Turn the glazed strawberries into the tart shells, if using. Spread fruit evenly.
  • FOR THE SHORTBREAD COOKIE CRUST – TWO OPTIONS
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Process cookie crumbs in food processor until finely ground
  • Add sugar and melted butter and process until mixed well
  • Option 1: Press onto bottom and sides of tart pans. Bake for 10 minutes. It will feel soft, but will firm up as it cools.
  • Cool completely before filling.
  • Option 2: Spread the crumb mixture out on a cookie sheet and press down. Bake for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool and break into pieces or crumble between your fingers to make crumbs. This plan works well if you are going to make individual servings in small Mason jars: Line the bottom of the jar with crumbs as deep as you want, spoon on the cold filling, and top with whipped cream or ice cream

I just had to throw one more strawberry recipe in before the season ends, and what better time to do it than the Forth of July? These tarts can either be all fancy and scooped into tart shells, or another more rustic route (and easier) is to crumble the crust into crumbs and pat into the bottom of a small Mason jar. Your call – either way is delicious.

The only trick is: you can make all the parts in advance, but it’s not a great idea to assemble until right before you serve. The crust has a tendency to soak up all that strawberry goodness, so you can lose the crunch factor if you aren’t careful. That being said, it’s a cool breeze to make, so let’s get going!

First thing is the quest to find the ripest, most flavorful berries you can get your hands on. I don’t need to tell you that local is always better. Some will get pureed and used as the major player in the glaze, and the rest are sliced to your specifications to go into the filling. The glaze is super thick, but has a royal ton of strawberry flavor due to the fact that it’s, well…full of strawberries.

While the filling is cooling in the refrigerator, get those tart shells put together. If you opt for the more rustic option and want to use the ‘cookie crumbs in the bottom of the Mason Jar approach’, you will still be baking your crumbs, so either way we need to get busy. …and that’s about all there is to it.

You can serve this dessert with just the berries, or opt for a whipped cream or ice cream topping. Save some leftover crumbs if you want and sprinkle over the top!

The filling lasts for at least three days in the fridge and is happy as a clam in there, so don’t worry if you want to make it in advance. Same holds true for the shortbread crust. Now all that’s left to do is chow down. Happy Summer, and thanks so much for reading today!! xoxoxo

Hello. I’m Roberta Reynolds.

I’m so glad you dropped in! Welcome to Bird’s Nest Bakery and Café, a collection of ‘made from scratch’, seasonal recipes developed in my home kitchen. I’ve been obsessed with creating the easiest and most delicious recipes possible since I could reach the top of a stove.

I hope you’ll find this site a welcome and relaxing place where you can come for inspiration and ideas. Take a look, have fun, and feel free to modify these recipes to suit your particular palate. It would make me so happy if you would share these recipes with friends and family. After all, cooking and baking are meant to be shared with those we care about. That’s what’s so much fun about it!