Grape Tartlets with Almond Crust
- 1/4 cup almonds slivered, blanched
- 1 1/2 cups flour, all-purpose
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar firmly packed
- 1/2 cup butter cold, unsalted, cut into small pieces
- 1 large eggs cold
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest freshly grated
- 3/4 cup apricot preserves (jam)
- 3 tablespoons sherry
- 3/4 pound grapes, seedless preferably an assortment of 23 colors, halved & if necessary, seeded
- 1/4 cup almonds slivered, lightly toasted
- Finely grind almonds in a food processor with on/off motion, or crush with a rolling pin until as finely ground as possible.
- Add flour, salt and brown sugar to processor and blend, or combine ground almonds, flour, salt and brown sugar in a bowl and stir to blend.
- Add butter and process or work with the fingertips until mixture reassembles coarse crumbs.
- In a small bowl beat egg lightly.
- Stir in the vanilla and lemon zest.
- With a processor on, add egg mixture to dough through feed tube and process until dough forms.
- Pat dough into ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and divide into 8 equal parts.
- Press each piece into a lightly buttered 3 to 3 1/2 inch tartlet pan, preferably with removable rim, patting into an even layer.
- (The dough will soften as you work with it.)
- Chill tartlet shells in freezer for at least 30 minutes before baking.
- Preheat oven to 400F (200C).
- Remove tartlet shells from freezer, line each with a square of foil, and fill with pie weights or dried beans to prevent dough from puffing during baking.
- Bake on baking sheet in center of oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove foil with weights, reduce oven temperature to 350F, and continue baking for 15 to 20 minutes, or until pastry is a rich, golden brown.
- Let tartlet shells cool in pans and place on wire racks to cool completely.
- To prevent glaze, combine preserves and sherry in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring, until preserves are melted.
- Strain through a sieve.
- To assemble tarts, brush tarts on the bottom of each tartlet shell.
- Arrange grapes, cut sides down, in a decorative pattern, alternating colors, in the bottom of each pastry shell.
- Brush remaining glaze, reheating it if necessary, over grapes and edges of tartlets.
- Sprinkle toasted almonds over tartlets before glaze sets.
- Serve at room temperature.
almonds slivered, flour, salt, brown sugar, butter cold, eggs cold, almond, lemon zest freshly, apricot preserves, sherry, grapes, almonds
Taken from recipeland.com/recipe/v/grape-tartlets-almond-crust-44227 (may not work)