Tart Filling With Cream Cheese Food

CREAM CHEESE TARTS (PAULA DEEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup (12 total) of muffin pan.
• Beat cream cheese with electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
• Place a vanilla wafer FLAT side down, in each muffin cup. Spoon cream cheese mixture over wafers filling each to about 1/4 inch from top of paper.
• Bake for 20 minutes.
• Allow tarts to cool completely before filling. When you remove the tarts from the oven, they will be puffed up, but as they cool, the center will sink, creating the perfect well to fill with a couple of spoonfuls of your favorite filling.
• Chill thoroughly before serving.

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.

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.

SCHMIDT'S CHERRY CHEESE TART FILLING

Steps:

• Using a small mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in the sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla extract until smooth. Refrigerate filling overnight. Using a 4-ounce ice cream scoop, fill each pre-baked tart shell with the chilled cream cheese filling. Place cherry pie filling on top, approximately 5 cherries per tart.

STRAWBERRY TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend flour, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt until moist crumbs form (this may take up to 1 minute). Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.
• With floured fingers, press dough evenly into pan and up sides. Dip a dry-measuring cup in flour, and use it to press dough firmly into bottom and against sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Using a fork, prick crust all over. Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes, pressing down gently once or twice with a spoon during baking if crust puffs up. Cool completely in pan.
• Make the filling: In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until smooth; spread mixture evenly in bottom of baked crust (still in tart pan).
• Starting from outside edge, arrange strawberry halves, stemmed side down, in tight concentric circles on cream cheese.
• In a small saucepan, heat jelly on medium-low until liquefied. Gently brush strawberries with jelly; let set at least 20 minutes. Chill in pan at least 1 hour (and up to 6 hours); remove from pan just before serving.

CREAM CHEESE FRUIT TART

Steps:

• In small bowl combine the cream cheese, sugar, lemon peel and juice.
• Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl often, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Spread over baked pie crust.
• Chill at least 1 hour.
• Several hours before serving, arrange fruit on filling.
• I like to use the strawberries nearest the rim of the pie shell, then a ring of overlapping kiwi slices, then a ring of mandarin oranges followed with a "bull's-eye" of the crushed pineapple in the center.
• Brush the fruit with the melted apple jelly and serve.
• You may substitute whatever your favorite fruit or berries are for the topping.

MASCARPONE TART FILLING

Steps:

• Beat cream cheese, heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy Fold in mascarpone.
• Spread on the bottom of a pre-baked 9-inch tart shell and top with fresh berries or fruit.