Merry Cherry Cookie Tarts Food

CHERRY TARTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add enough water until dough forms a ball. Refrigerate for 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 450°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut out eight 5-in. circles. Place each over an inverted custard cup on an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan; flute edges. , Bake 10-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before removing tart shells from custard cups; cool completely on wire racks., For filling, in a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Drain cherries, reserving 1 cup juice. Set cherries aside. Stir reserved juice into sugar mixture until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in cherries, butter, almond extract and food coloring if desired. Cool to room temperature. Spoon about 1/4 cup filling into each tart shell.

CHOCOLATE CHUNK-TART CHERRY COOKIES

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg and beat to combine.
• Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chunks and dried cherries.
• Scoop slightly mounded tablespoons of the dough and roll into balls. Arrange about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bake until the cookies are set and golden on the bottom, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

MINI CHERRY CHEESECAKES WITH VANILLA WAFER CRUSTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla until light and fluffy.
• Line regular sized muffin pans or cupcake tins with paper baking cups and place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of each cup.
• Fill the cups 2/3 full of cream cheese mixture.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until set.
• When warm, top each with a tablespoon of cherry filling.
• Chill in refrigerator.

CHERRY CREAM CHEESE TARTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and extract until smooth. Spoon into shells. Top with pie filling. Refrigerate until serving.

CHRISTMAS TREE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Unroll one of the pie crusts onto a cutting board. Using a 2 1/2-inch plain-edged round cutter, cut out 8 circles from the crust. Place the circles on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Discard the remaining dough.
• Unroll the second pie crust onto the cutting board. Using the same 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out 8 more circles. Then, use a 2-inch plain-edged round cutter and cut out 8 smaller circles from the larger circles on the board. Set aside the rings. Using a 1 1/2-inch Christmas tree cutter, cut out 8 small trees from the smaller full circles. You should now have eight 2 1/2-inch full circles, eight 2 1/2-inch rings and eight small Christmas trees of dough.
• Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Use your finger or a brush to brush the edge of the 2 1/2-inch circles. This will help the rings adhere during baking. Lay the rings on top of the egg-washed circles. Working carefully, spoon 3 cherries into the center of each tart. Place a tiny tree on top of each tart over the cherries. The trunk of the tree should be touching the outer ring. Using your finger or a pastry brush, brush the pie-crust ring and tree with the egg wash. Bake the tarts until the dough is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
• Create a bed of rosemary on a platter or cake stand and arrange the baked tarts on top of the rosemary. Dust with confectioners' sugar and enjoy!

TART CHERRY MERINGUE DESSERT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a small bowl, mix flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Add egg, stirring with a fork. Press mixture onto bottom and up sides of a greased 11x7-in. baking dish. Bake until lightly browned, 20-22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven setting to 350°., In a small bowl, beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until stiff glossy peaks form. Fold in almonds., Drain cherries, reserving juice. Add enough water to juice to measure 1 cup; pour into a saucepan. Stir in tapioca, egg yolks and remaining sugar; let stand 5 minutes. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in cherries, lemon juice and, if desired, food coloring., Pour into crust. Immediately spread meringue over top, sealing edges to crust. Bake until meringue is golden brown, 22-25 minutes., Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.

CHERRY TART

Steps:

• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to a 12-inch round, a bit less than 1/4 inch thick; fit in a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line shell with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove parchment and weights. Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
• Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk together milk and egg yolks in a glass measuring cup. Add milk mixture to the saucepan, along with butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Let boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
• Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and immediately whisk in 4 teaspoons cherry liqueur. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, whisk until smooth.
• Fold whipped cream into chilled pastry cream and transfer to cooled tart shell. Working from the outside in, shingle cherries in concentric circles to cover completely.
• Heat preserves in a small saucepan over medium heat until warm. Add remaining teaspoon kirsch and stir to combine. Brush mixture over cherries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHUNK-CHERRY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisktogether flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat butterand sugars until pale and fluffy.Add eggs, 1 at a time, beatingwell after each addition. Beat invanilla, then flour mixture.Beat in chocolate and cherries.Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
• Roll dough into 1 3/4-inch balls(about 3 tablespoons each),and arrange on parchment-linedbaking sheets, spacing about3 inches apart. Bake until edgesare golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Letcool on sheets set on wire racksfor 10 minutes. Transfer cookiesto racks; let cool completely.

CHERRY CHOCOLATE NUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the remaining ingredients. , Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.