These are seriously THE BEST shortbread tarts E•V•E•R. The mixture of shortbread, cream cheese, lemon, and fruit are heavenly.
And really they are not that hard to make...at all.
I made these for my son's class last week when he had his school year-end celebration party. :) The kids sang some songs for their parents and family and then we had some goodies after.
I made 36 tarts, but probably should have made more. The tarts were a hit and were all gone in a flash! I got asked for the recipe and I said it was an ancient family secret. Shhh...don't tell anyone I'm sharing it with you! ;) Seriously, not a secret family recipe, but whoever invented these little babies is a genious!
My son, Mateo, who LOVES these tarts, asked if he could have another one, but I sadly had to tell him no because there were not enough to go around. But I told him I would make him his own little batch! :)
Here is the shortbread mixture pressed into the mini muffin tins ready for baking. This step is the most tedious of the recipe. But once you make these tarts a few times, you get your routine down pat and it takes no time to get the dough in the pan!
Here is the shortbread dough baked to perfection. These little tart shells are good to eat as is, but please refrain, as they taste even better when they are filled. :)
Next step, filling the tart shells with the yummiest cream cheese filling. Again, these taste so good, as is, with no fruit on top, but again, please refrain, as they even taste that much better with a bit 'o fruit on top! :)
Ah...shortbread dough baked, tarts filled, and now garnished with fruit on top. For the fruit, I used mandarin orange segments (from the can), fresh strawberries, and fresh kiwis. I also love it topped with blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries. So, so, so, so good! I'm really going to have to make these again really soon. :)
Here is the famed recipe. And it's from the Best of Bridge. :)
I love the Best of Bridge.
Their Butter Tart Slice recipe is SO good too! :) -
http://mateoandtobias.blogspot.com/2010/12/butter-tart-slice.htmlShortbread Tarts with Cheese 'N' FruitShortbread Tarts -
Use tiny muffin tins - approximately 1 1/2" diameter. This would yield about 3 dozen.
1 cup butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Mix ingredients in mixmaster. Don't roll but pat into muffin tins with your fingers to form shells. Prick the bottoms with a ford and back 20 minutes at 300° to 325°. During baking time, prick bottoms again if the shells puff up. These may be made in large quantity and frozen.
Cheese 'N' Fruit Filling -
1-8oz. package cream cheese - softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
In a large bowl beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in milk. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla.
Now, fill tarts at least 2 hours before serving to allow flavours to blend. Top with fresh fruit (ie. kiwi, strawberries).
