- 12
Ingredients
- FILLING:
- 3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cold butter, cubed
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 9 to 10 tablespoons cold water
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 cups fresh or frozen pitted dark sweet cherries, thawed, halved
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- Coarse sugar
Preparation
Step 1
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in butter and shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide dough in half; form each into a disk. Wrap separately in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water, cornstarch and lemon juice until smooth. Add cherries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in extract. Set aside to cool.
On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut out 12 hearts with a floured 4-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter. Transfer half of the hearts to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a floured 3/4-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out small hearts from the remaining hearts. (Discard small hearts or reserve for another use.)
Spoon 2 tablespoons cherry mixture onto the center of each solid heart. Brush edges of pastry with egg. Top with cutout hearts; press edges with a fork to seal. Brush tops with egg; sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. While tarts are baking, repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Let pies stand for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks. Serve warm.
Yield: 1 dozen.
1 pie (calculated without coarse sugar) equals 445 calories