Cottage Cherry Tarts Food

COTTAGE CHEESE POCKET TARTS - CZECH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Cream butter till fluffy. Add cottage cheese & blend VERY well.
• Work in flour & chill dough thoroughly.
• Roll on lightly floured surface into thin sheets & cut into squares.
• On ea square of dough, place 1 teaspoon of strawberry preserves. Fold over to make a triangle & press edges together w/tines of a fork.
• Place on baking sheet, bake for 15 min & serve warm.
• NOTE: Altho strawberry preserves are used in this recipe, more typically Czech fillings are suggested as well & include: prune, apricot or date-nut.

COTTAGE CHERRY TARTS

Steps:

• HEAT oven to 350°F Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with pastry blender. Cut in cottage cheese and vanilla until a firm dough is formed.
• SPRINKLE counter with powdered sugar. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch squares. Fill with 1/2 teaspoon preserves. Overlap opposite corners; seal tightly. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• BAKE 14 to 16 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Arrange on serving platter; sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

CHEESECAKE TART WITH BERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Make the crust: Pulse the flour, pecans, sugar and salt in a food processor until the pecans are finely ground. Pulse in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice-cold water and pulse until the dough just comes together.
• Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, form into a disk, wrap and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 15 minutes. Put the dough in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and press into an even layer over the bottom and up the sides. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges of the crust begin turning golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights and continue baking until the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 more minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
• Make the filling: Whisk 1 cup milk, the egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar and the cornstarch in a medium bowl. Heat the remaining 2/3 cup milk and 1/4 cup sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. While whisking, slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to bubble and is very thick, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, then whisk in the cream cheese, lemon juice and vanilla until smooth. Pour into the cooled crust and refrigerate until set, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Make the topping: Toss the berries, sugar and sherry in a bowl and let sit at room temperature, 20 minutes. Top the tart with the berries.

GRANDMA MONETTE'S CHERRY JAM TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Make the filling: Combine the cherry preserves and lemon juice in a bowl, stirring to break up any clumps.
• Make the crust: Butter a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium speed. Add the whole egg, then the vanilla. Whisk the all-purpose flour, almond flour, lemon zest, cinnamon and cloves in a bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in up to 1 tablespoon water until the dough just comes together. Wrap two-thirds of the dough in plastic wrap, then wrap the remaining one-third in plastic wrap. Refrigerate both for 30 minutes.
• Put the larger piece of dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll it out into an 11-inch round. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and invert the dough into the prepared tart pan; peel off the other sheet of parchment paper and trim the excess dough. Spread the jam evenly on the crust. Roll out the remaining dough to about 1/4 inch thick and cut it into 1/2- to 1-inch-wide strips (10 to 14 strips). Arrange the strips in a lattice pattern on top of the filling. Beat the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and brush on the lattice and edge of the crust. Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Photography by Steve Giralt

CHERRY CHEESECAKE PIE

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine the first seven ingredients; cover and process until smooth. Pour into the crust. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. , Cover and refrigerate overnight. Cut into slices; top with cherry pie filling.

ALSATIAN CHEESE TART

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch square, then transfer to a large baking sheet.
• Blend cottage cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth.
• Cook bacon in a 10-inch skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until it just begins to brown, about 5 minutes. (Bacon should be tender, not crisp.) Remove from heat.
• Spread cheese mixture evenly over pastry, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Scatter bacon and onion on top, then sprinkle with parmesan. Bake until pastry is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into 36 pieces and serve warm.