CHEESE TARTLETS

By gaster16

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1 (3 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4-5 tablespoons water
• 1 (11 oz.) can mandarin orange sections, drained
• 1 (8-1.4 oz.) can crushed pineapple
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 5 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds toasted
• several drops almond extract

Preparation

Step 1

Pastry:

In mixing bowl cut butter or margarine and cream cheese into flour, gradually add water, tossing until moistened. Form dough into a ball. On lightly floured surface roll pastry to 1/8" thickness, cut into 32 2-1/2" rounds. Press pastry into 1-3/4" muffin cups. Bake in 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Cool tartlets in pans on wire rack, remove from pans.

Fruit filling:

Reserve 16 orange sections, chop remainder. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. In small saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in reserved pineapple juice, the orange and lemon juices. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Cool. Stir in chopped orange sections, pineapple, almonds and almond extract. Spoon fruit mixture into tartlets. Halve reserved orange sections, place one orange piece atop each tartlet.