Flaky Pastry Tart Shells Food

CREAM CHEESE TART SHELLS

Steps:

• Blend cream cheese and butter or margarine. Stir in flour just until blended. Chill about 1 hour. This can be made ahead and chilled for up to 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Shape dough into 24 one-inch balls and press into ungreased 1 1/2 inch muffin cups (mini-muffin size) to make a shallow shell. Fill with your favorite filling and bake for 20 minutes, or until the crust is light brown.

FLAKY TART DOUGH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix together salt and water. Keep very cold until ready to use.
• Place flour and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly until mixture forms large crumbs. Add the salt water mixture and continue pulsing until a dough has just formed but is not smooth.
• On a lightly floured work surface, evenly divide dough. Form each piece of dough into a disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

SWEET TART PASTRY

Steps:

• Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl.
• Toss butter through flour mixture to coat pieces. Using fingertips, rub fat into flour, working it until you have created a coarse meal with a few pea-size particles of fat.
• Empty crumbs onto a cool surface. Form mixture into a mound. Make a 4 to 5 inch well in center of the mound. Combine egg and vanilla and pour mixture into the well. Using a fork, draw crumbs into egg mixture, about 1 - 2 tablespoons at a time. When all crumbs are added, toss mixture a few times with a pastry blender to form large clumps, then scrape into a mound.
• Using the heel of your hand, push 2 - 3 tablespoons of the dough at a time, outward in 6 to 8 inch sweeps. This will blend fat and flour and give crust a delicate texture. If your hand becomes sticky, flour it as needed. Repeat process until all dough has been worked. Gather dough into a mound again. Repeat procedure 2 more times.
• After third time, flour your hands. Gently knead the dough 5 or 6 times to make it smooth. Shape into a 5 inch disk. Dust disk lightly with flour, score with side of your hand, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate for 20 minutes before shaping. DO NOT LET DOUGH BECOME TOO HARD or it will be difficult to roll. If this happens, let pastry soften at room temperature.
• Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. After dough has been rolled, position rolling pin 4 inches from top of the pastry. Lift dough over top of rolling pin and gently roll dough toward you. Lift pastry up. Make sure you keep a finger pressed against barrel of rolling pin to keep it from slipping. Position pastry, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of dough hanging over edge of pan on side closest to you. Then unroll pastry over an ungreased tart pan, moving pin away from you. Immediately lift overhang into pan to prevent sharp edge of the pan from cutting dough.
• Working a small portion of the dough at a time, mold it into crease of the pan. Trim excess pastry from top edge of pan. Chill pastry in refrigerator or freezer for up to 30 minutes. Tear an 18 inch square of tin foil. Make a buttered circle in center of foil 2 inches larger than size of pan. Place foil buttered side down, centering it into the baking pan. Using your hand, press foil flush against the sides.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Position shelf in lower third of oven. Fill pan with enough dried beans or baking nuggets to just cover surface of pan. DO NOT OVERFILL. Bake pastry shell on a shallow pan with sides. Bake crust 15 to 18 minutes or until sides begin to brown. Remove pan from the oven. Let stand about 30 seconds. Gently remove foil and beans. Reduce oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Continue to bake crust for 3 to 5 minutes or until it is golden. If bottom of pastry shell puffs up, tap it gently with bottom of a fork to expel the air. Do this carefully so the pastry crust doesn't break. When crust is done, cool completely before filling.

FLAKY PASTRY TART SHELLS

Steps:

• Place the flour, butter, and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
• Pulse about 24 times, then open the machine and lift a nadful of crumbs. The largest pieces of butter should be the size of raw grains of rice or barley, if larger, pulse again.
• When the butter pieces are the correct size, transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
• Sprinkle 6 Tbs of ice water onto the dough. Spread the fingers of one hand, and using your rigid fingertips as if they were a large fork, stir the dough quickly and briefly until the liquid is incorporated.
• Squeeze a handful of the dough in your palm; the dough should have just enough moisture to stay together.
• Break the piece in half; if it seems dry and crumbly, cautiously add more water a few tsp at a time until you can squeeze it into a ball that will not brumble when broken apart.
• The dough is easiest to work with immediately if your kitchen is reasonably cool, the butter was cold and you used ice water. If your kitchen is very warm, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 15 minute.
• Turn the pastry dough out on a lightly floured board and divide it inot quarters for small 7-inch tart shells or in half for large 10-inch shells.
• Shape 1 piece of dough into a disk and dust the top lightly with flour.
• Begin to roll out the dough, using quick but gentle strokes with the pin. Start with the pin in the middle of the round and roll to the top, then the bottom.
• Rotate the dough 1/4 turn each time you roll to be sure the dough is not sticking and use additional flour as necessary.
• When the round is larger than 9 inches for a small tart or 12 inches for a large tart and about 1/8-inch thick.
• Trim the edges of the rounds if you want, but the edge is hand formed so it really doesn't matter all that much.
• Fold 1/2-inch edge of dough all around to form a decorative rim.
• Begin by folding a 1-inch long section over by 1/2 inch, then overlap the fold by half and roll another piece of dough over, pinching it firmly in place. Continue to roll and pinch, and a twisted rop pattern will form.
• Roll out the remaining dough in the same way, and crimp edges in the same manner.
• Transfer the pastry shells to baking sheets lined with parchment paper and poke the interior of the shells all over with the tines of a fork.
• Refrigerate the pastry for at least 30 min or up to 24 hours. They can be frozen on the baking sheets, and when frozen, stack them inside freezer bags. Bake the shells without thawing.
• Prebaking:Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
• Brush the rims of the tarts with an egg wash.
• Bake 1 baking sheet at a time for 15 min, then reduce the heat to 350ºF and continue to bake until they are an even golden brown, 8-12 min longer.
• Lift a shell with a spatula and check that the underside is evenly brown. If the tart shells puff up during baking, press down the center of the pastry with the back of a large spoon.
• Let cool on the baking sheet.

FLAKY PASTRY TART SHELLS

Steps:

• 1. Place the flour, butter, and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse about 24 times, then open the machine and lift a handful of crumbs. The largest pieces of butter should be the size of raw grains of rice or barley. If there are larger pieces, continue to pulse the mixture. When the butter pieces are the correct size, transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water onto the dough. Spread the fingers of one hand as if you were about to grab a large ball, and using your rigid fingertips as if they were a large fork, stir the dough quickly and briefly until the liquid is incorporated. Squeeze a handful of the dough in your palm. The dough should have just enough moisture to stay together. Break the piece in half. If it seems dry and crumbly, cautiously add more water a few teaspoons at a time until you can squeeze it into a ball that will not crumble when broken apart. If your kitchen is reasonably cool, the butter was cold, and you used ice water, the dough should be at just the right stage of malleability for rolling out, and it will be easiest to work with immediately. If your kitchen is very warm, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 15 minutes.
• 2.Rolling the dough:
• Turn the pastry dough out on a lightly floured board and divide it into quarters for small 7-inch tart shells or in half for large 10-inch shells. Shape 1 piece into a disk and dust the top lightly with flour. Begin to roll out the dough, using quick but gentle strokes with the pin. Start with the pin in the middle of the round and roll to the top, then to the bottom. Rotate the dough 1/4 turn each time you roll to be sure the dough is not sticking and use additional flour as necessary. When the round is larger than 9 inches for a small tart, or 12 inches for a large tart, and about 1/8 inch thick, turn a 9- or 12-inch plate or bowl upside down on the dough as a template and cut around it with a sharp knife. Remove the plate or bowl.
• 3.Forming the edge:
• Fold 1/2-inch edge of dough all around to form a decorative rim. Begin by folding a 1-inch-long section over by 1/2 inch, then overlap the fold by half and roll another piece of dough over, pinching it firmly in place. Continue to roll and pinch, and a twisted rope pattern will. Form. Roll out the remaining dough and crimp the edges in the same manner. Transfer the pastry shells to baking sheets lined with parchment paper and poke the interior of the shells all over with the tines of a fork. Refrigerate the pastry for at lest 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. If you wish, you can freeze the shells on the baking sheets, and when they are frozen, stack them inside freezer bags. Bake the shells without defrosting first.
• 4.Prebaking:
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the rims of the tarts with egg wash. Bake the tart shells (1 baking sheet at a time) for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and continue to bake until they are an even golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes longer. Lift a shell with a spatula and check that the underside is evenly brown. If the tart shells puff up during baking, press down the center of the pastry with the back of a large spoon. Let cool on the baking sheet.

TART SHELLS

Steps:

• Blend cream cheese and butter together.
• Add flour and mix.
• Chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Divide into 24 balls and press into miniature muffin tins, pushing dough up the sides.
• Spoon filling into pastry shells.
• Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.