Strawberry Tarts with Shortbread Cookie Crust
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)
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