Cranberry Almond Shortbread Tart Food

ALMOND CRANBERRY TART

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, almonds and flour; cut in the butter until crumbly. Beat egg and vanilla; add to flour mixture and stir until moistened. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. , Coat fingers with flour and press pastry mixture into the bottom and 1-1/2 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan. P;lace on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. , Meanwhile, soften gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Set aside. In a saucepan, combine the cranberries, jelly and remaining sugar. Cook over medium heat until berries pop. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved and cool. Pour into crust. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and almonds if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

CRANBERRY ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cranberries: bring orange juice and sugar to a boil.
• Add cranberries, remove from heat and let cool.
• Filling: Beat almond paste and sugar until smooth.
• Add remaining ingredients and beat until blended.
• Assembly: Spread filling in tart shell.
• Drain cranberries and place on top of filling.
• Sprinkle with almonds to cover.
• Bake until puffed, crust is done and almonds are golden, then cool.
• Tart dough, cranberries and almond filling can all be made a couple of days ahead. Filling should be brought to room temperature or beat in a mixer to facilitate spreading.

CRANBERRY CURD TART

Steps:

• To make the crust, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Spread almonds onto a rimmed baking sheet.
• Toast almonds in the preheated oven until fragrant and skins have cracked, about 15 minutes. Let cool, about 5 minutes.
• Combine almonds, flour, brown sugar, salt, ginger, and cloves in a food processor; pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 12 (1-second) pulses. Add softened butter and pulse until combined, about 5 (1-second) pulses.
• Press dough into a 10-inch tart pan, using about two thirds for the sides and one third for the bottom. Prick the bottom with a fork and freeze for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 week.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake chilled crust in the preheated oven until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• To make curd, combine cranberries, brown sugar, orange liqueur, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have burst and are very soft, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Strain back into saucepan through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on solids in strainer. Whisk softened butter into cranberry liquid.
• Whisk eggs and egg yolks in a separate small bowl until lightened. Slowly whisk about 1 cup of the warm cranberry mixture into the eggs. Add egg-cranberry mixture to remaining cranberry mixture in saucepan, whisking constantly. Place saucepan back over medium-low and cook, whisking constantly, until bubbly and thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in orange zest. If using immediately, pour into a shallow dish and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. If making ahead, cool to room temperature and then cover with plastic wrap pressed tightly to the curd's surface before refrigerating.
• Pour cooled cranberry curd into prebaked crust and smooth top with an offset spatula. Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

CRANBERRY-ALMOND SHORTBREAD TART

Steps:

• Make the filling Combine the sugar, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup water in a 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, about 2 minutes. Add the cranberries and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the cranberries have popped and the liquid is syrupy, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the apricot jam and simmer until the jam melts, about 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Make the shortbread Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until warm and fragrant but not yet brown, about 5 minutes; let cool completely. In a food processor, combine the nuts with 2 Tbs. of the flour. Pulse until very fine but not powdery, 20 to 25 short pulses. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the remaining flour, the cornmeal, and salt. In the food processor, combine the butter, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extract. Pulse until creamy, 10 to 20 short pulses. Add the egg yolk and pulse a few times to combine. Add the dry ingredients and pulse, scraping down the sides as necessary, just until a soft dough forms, 30 to 40 short pulses. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic and divide. Using 9 1/2 x1-inch fluted metal tart pan, press half of the dough evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap. Form the remaining dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate the dough and the tart shell until very firm, at least 30 minutes. Prick the bottom of the tart shell all over with a fork, bake on baking sheet until firm, dry, and just starting to turn golden brown around the edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Spoon Spoon the filling into the tart and spread evenly. Crumble the remaining shortbread dough over the cranberries in pebble-like pieces. Bake until the topping is firm and golden-brown 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack.