sweet cherry tartlets

You know those people who are content grabbing bowls of oatmeal or eating bottomless boxes of cereal for dinner every night? These are the people who don’t rock the boat. They are mellow, laid back go with the flow-ers and they are the most difficult people to prepare a meal for or purchase a present for. Why is that, you ask? Because every conversation goes like this: “What would you like for dinner?” “I don’t know.” “What about steak?” “Yeah that’s fine.” “Or chicken?” “Sure.” “What about spaghetti?” “Yeah, I guess.” “GIMME AN ANSWER OLD MAN!”

I grew up with such a person in my life. In fact (Josh is making me write this) I inherited this little trait from him, which is probably more annoying for Josh since I am the cook. It’s not that I don’t like any suggestions, I simply just don’t know what I want. I feel confident that my father feels the same. This is why he gets so many pairs of socks for his birthday – it’s all he gives us to work with. So, with Father’s Day around the corner, I prepared for the semi-annual difficult task of figuring out what the heck to get him.

Luckily, there are a few fall backs on which to…..fall back on…..after hours of brain racking with zippo ideas. One of those fall backs is cherries. Whether they be whole, baked, buckled, cobbled, thrown into a pie, or on top of a sundae, few things have the power of evoking a definite “yes” like cherries do. When I  came across big bright red cherries in my new favorite edgy underground flagship Whole Foods, I knew I hit the jackpot for Father’s Day.

After mercilessly ripping out the hearts of the the cherries, I decided upon a combination of lemon and almond to punch up their flavors and balance out their sweetness. Still, the tartlets were sweet enough to taste like candy yet not so sweet you wished you used the sour variety.  My special dudes gave them thumbs up, which made my day, since one of my dudes happens to be hard to “shop” for.

Sweet Cherry Tartlets

Tart Shell
Adapted from Dorrie Greenspan

Makes enough for a 9-inch tart pan or 6 mini-tart pans

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cubed into small pieces (1 stick + 1 tablespoon)
1 large egg

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse the flour, sugar and salt together until mixed. Add butter to the flour mixture and pulse until butter has been cut in. (Butter should be the size of peas.) Add egg and gently stir into the batter until slightly absorbed (no need to completely incorporate). Process until the dough comes together. (Make sure you don’t continue processing after it has come together. If you do, the butter will be completely mixed into the batter meaning dense crust. You need the little flecks of butter throughout the dough in order for it to puff up and flake.) Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. If there are any dry straggling clumps, make sure you incorporate them into the batter.

At this point you can either take the dough and press it into your tart pan or you can wrap the dough in plastic and chill it for 2 hours before rolling. If you press the dough into the pan, first butter or grease your tart pan. Then press the dough evenly on the bottom and sides of the pan making sure they are even in thickness and that the pieces are pressing firmly together, otherwise they will separate and crumble. Pierce the crust all over, including the sides, with a fork. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, if not longer, before baking.

If you choose to chill the dough make sure it is wrapped tightly in plastic. Butter or grease your tart pan. Roll out the chilled dough on a floured surface to a 12-inch circle, lifting the dough and turning it occasionally to free it from the counter. Lift dough and place in pan, gently pressing the dough to the pan and pressing any cracks together. You can either fold in the overhang of dough making double thick sides or you can roll a rolling pin over the top, severing the overhang from the rest of the dough. Pierce the crust all over, including the sides, with a for. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, if not longer, before baking.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 375°F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, butter side down, tightly against the dough. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 20 – 25 minutes. (No need for pie weights since the crust was frozen before baking!)

Carefully remove the foil. If any of the crust has puffed, gently push it back down with a spatula or the back side of a spoon. Bake for 5 minutes longer. (If you need a fully baked tart shell bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.) Transfer pan to a wire rack and let it cool to room temperature before continuing with the recipe.

Cherry Filling

5 cups pitted fresh sweet cherries (about 2 ½ pounds unpitted)
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar (depending on the sweetness of the cherries)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 lemon + 1 tablespoon lemon juice (more if you want a tarter tart)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

In a large bowl combine, cornstarch, sugar, salt, lemon, and almond extract and stir together until combined. Add cherries and gently fold in until coated in the sugar mixture.

Increase oven temperature to 400°F.

Spoon mixture into tart and bake for 5 – 10 more minutes or until crust is golden and the tart is bubbly.

Let pie cool on a wire rack until room temperature. Serve.