Prickly Pear Tartlets #BakingBloggers

This month, Sue of Palatable Pastime told the Baking Bloggers that for February: "Let's post your favorite bite sized baked item. Can be mini -desserts, mini muffins, mini quiche, gougeres, individual  sized items baked in muffin cups or small ramekins....let your imagination soar." Here's the #BakingBloggers bite-sized baked goods party...

• Baked Tater Tots from Magical Ingredients
• Breakfast Toast Cups from Making Miracles
• Chocolate Bouchons from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Eggless Pineapple Cupcakes from Sneha's Recipe
• Hertzoggies (South African Jam and Coconut Tartlets) from Tara's Multicultural Table
• Honey-Kissed Savory Shortbread Crackers from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Muffin Pizzas from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pizza Bombs from Palatable Pastime
• Potato Salad Bites from Food Lust People Love
• Prickly Pear Tartlets from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Prickly Pear Tartlets

I initially thought to make individual sweet galettes, but the dough I tried didn't hold its shape. You can see the "fails" in the photo above. For my second attempt, I used the same dough but pressed it into a muffin pan instead. It worked fabulously. 

Also, I made these with Prickly Pear Jelly with fruit from friends. However, you can make these with whatever jam or jelly you have.

Ingredients makes approximately 20 mini tartlets

• 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup organic granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon cold water (or vodka or gin)
  
• finely minced Candied Citrus Peel, optional
• Prickly Pear Jelly or whatever jam or jelly you have
• Also needed: muffin pan; tamper (optional, but helps with the tartlet shape); scoop (optional, but helps with uniform sizes)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in the eggs until incorporated. Stir in the flour and ground almonds until a flaky dough is formed. Add in the water, pure lemon extract, and candied citrus peel (if using). Gently work the dough until it forms a ball.  

Use a scoop to portion out the dough, about the size of a walnut in its shell. Place each ball into a muffin hollow.

I use a tamper to form a depression in the center of each, slightly flattening and pushing the dough up the edges of the muffin pan. 

Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon jelly into each tartles. Bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let tartlets cool for several minutes on the sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Since this was my re-do batch, I ran out of prickly pear jelly and finished up the tartlets with elderberry jam that my mother-in-law gave me. Delish. 

That's a wrap for our bite-sized baking recipes. We'll be back in March, sharing recipes for madeleines. I love those little treats. Stay tuned...