Cherry Tarts with Almond Marzipan Crust
 
 
Ingredients
For the Almond Marzipan Crust:
  • 1 stick unsalted butter chilled or frozen
  • 4 Tablespoons shortening, chilled or frozen
  • 1- 7-oz tube almond paste
  • ⅔ cup almond meal
  • 1- ¼ cup unbleached flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2-3 Tablespoons ice water
For the Cherry Filling:
  • 2- 14 oz cans tart cherries (not pie filling), drained, reserve juice from one can
  • 3 Tablespoons corn starch
  • ¼ cup sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  2. Cut the butter, shortening and marzipan into small cubes and add to a food processor bowl fitted with the steel blade.
  3. Add flour and salt to the bowl.
  4. Pulse to combine until flour mixture is pebbly
  5. Add ice water in a thin stream until the dough starts to come together.
  6. Dump bowl contents onto a pastry board (or cutting board) and press together into a flat oval about 2-inches thick. Wrap in cellophane and put in the fridge.
  7. On the stovetop, mix together sugar and corn starch and add cherry juice to combine. Stir over medium heat until thickened. Gently mix in cherries and remove from heat.
  8. After at least 30 minutes, remove dough from the fridge and roll out into a circle about ¼-inch thick. I used non-stick individual tart pans (tartlet). I pressed each pan down into the dough as if it were a cookie cutter, then pressed the cutout into the tart pan, turned it all over and and pressed dough into the pan. Put tart pans on a cookie sheet.
  9. If using a pie plate, press crust into a greased or non-stick pie dish or tart pan.
  10. Place crusts in the oven to bake for about 15 minutes. I've never had much luck using pie weights to prevent the crust from bubbling up. I just keep a close eye on it and when I see a crust start to bubble, I open the oven and give it a few gentle stabs with a fork to deflate. Just stab the upper layer, not all the way through. Works for me every time.
  11. Remove crusts from oven, spoon in filling and return to oven to bake until heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
  12. If using a 9-inch pie dish or tart pan, bake for about 30-40 minutes.
  13. Pie filling adapted from Oregon Red Tart Pie Cherries Web site: http://www.oregonfruit.com/of.pl?pg=rp&rcp=Cherry%20Pie
Recipe by FamilyandForks at https://www.familyandforks.com/cherry-tart-with-almond-marzipan-crust/