Cherry Tartlets

When your college freshman makes their first trip home for the weekend --- you make special dessert.  I made it my goal for the weekend to fill her up with as much home cooked food as I possibly could.  

I love these individual little tartlets because they're customizable.  I made 6 tarts from this recipe --- 3 cherry and 3 blueberry.  Swapping out the cherries for other fruits makes these tarts a perfect dessert for any season.  Think apple tarts for Fall or peach or raspberry tarts for summer. 

Cherry Tartlets
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup ice water
2 Tablespoons vodka
5 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar
5 cups sweet cherries 
​2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 egg white, beaten

Place flour and 1/4 t. salt in food processor.  Add butter and pulse to combine.  

Add water and vodka. 

Gently knead to form a dough.  

Divide dough into 12 equal portions. 

Roll each dough into a 4 1/2" circle.  Arrange on a baking sheet.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.  ​

Cut star from center of 6 doughs.

Combine 1/4 t. salt, 5 T. sugar and cornstarch.

Add cherries and lemon juice.  

Fit 6 crusts into the bottom of each tart.  Spoon 1/2 c. cherry mixture into each tart crust. 

Top with dough lids.  Pressing edges to seal.  Brush tops with egg white and sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.  ​

Bake 35-40 minutes at 375.  

Serve these tartlets a la mode with scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream to make them even more delicious.  

These cherry tartlets were a big hit with my college girl.  It's not easy to compete with the self serve soft serve ice cream machine in the dining hall at school but I think she liked these tarts.  I loved having my sweet girl home for the weekend and if that's the excuse I need to make special desserts like these - then so be it.  

​Ciao!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe