I like putting together little food gifts for the holidays. I love wrapping up something delicious from the kitchen and giving it to friends and family. Bite-size sweets like these Raspberry Almond Tarts are perfect candidates for just that.
These little tarts combine sweet raspberry preserves with almond paste for an absolutely lovely flavor. The two complement each other so very well. Add even more almonds on top, and you’ve got a whole lot of flavor packed into a small package.
My love of baking with preserves is well documented here on BoB. I have several varieties in my refrigerator at any given time because they’re such a great way to add fruity flavor to baked goods. I like to use raspberry preserves for these tarts, but you can use any flavor you like. Or make a variety!
One of the best things about these little tarts is the dough. The cream cheese makes the dough so easy to handle, plus it adds a wonderful flavor. Also, you don’t have to roll out this dough. Just place a portion of it in the muffin cup and press down to cover the bottom and sides of the cup. You can do this with your fingers or a handle of a wooden spoon. If you have a tart tamper, this is a perfect use for it.
I’ll give you one more really great tip for dividing up the dough. If you weigh the dough, then you can simply divide the total weight by 24 to determine how much each individual portion of dough should weigh. Then just pinch off the correctly sized portions of dough. It saves time and takes the guess work out of trying to make 24 equal portions.
These little tarts are so delicious! I love the combination of raspberry and almond. And I especially love that such a simple list of ingredients can make something so fantastic!
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Raspberry Almond Tarts
Raspberry Almond Tarts are simple bite-size tarts made with raspberry preserves and almond paste. Such a great flavor combination!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup almond paste, crumbled
- 1/4 cup whole blanched almonds, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and cream cheese until light and creamy. Add the flour and salt, and beat until blended. Cover the dough and chill 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease 24 mini muffin cups.
- Shape the dough into 24 1-inch balls. Place 1 ball in each cup of the mini muffin pan. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of each cup, forming a crust.
- Spoon 1/2 teaspoon preserves into the bottom of each tart.
- Stir together the egg, sugar, and crumbled almond paste. Place about 1 teaspoonful over the preserves. Sprinkle with chopped almonds.
- Bake 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes. Then, remove the tarts from the pans to cool completely.
Notes
Tarts may be frozen for up to 1 month.
Recipe slightly adapted from Southern Living.
25 Comments on “Raspberry Almond Tarts”
Just found your blog — I’m not much of a baker but I’ve resolved to do more baking in 2007. I’ll be visiting again!
They look fabulous. I love all the the little bite-sized things you make.
Oh these sound so good! I will have to try these.
I also wanted to tell you that I made the mini pecan pies to give out as part of a Christmas gift to some people at our church, and another batch for my family. When I made the first batch to give away Saturday nite, my husband asked to try one, ( I did not tell him they were pecan pies as he claims to not like them). He ate about 5 before I cut him off.
At candle light service Sunday nite I ran into one of the ladies I gave a batch to, and she said her family loved them and they were already gone (about 12 hours later).
Just wanted to say thanks! And keep posting!
That looks like a perfectly bite sized treat! Bet your gift parcel recipients were as pleased as pie 😀
Thanks, everyone! Christmas was hectic, as I’m sure everyone’s was. In fact, I still haven’t posted about some of the Christmas goodies I baked. Hopefully, soon, though.
Courtney, I’m glad the mini pecan pies were a hit. They usually don’t last very long around here, either.
What I like about these is that they are such a unique offering. You really think out of the sugar cookie box, which I bet is an extra special treat to those who receive your goodies!
No rolling out is definitely the best part, genius!
Jennifer, this is a wonderful idea for a gift, that’s for sure!
I’d love to receive these little pie – but then again, who wouldn’t? 😀
I tottaly agree with you, raspberries and almonds are a great combination.
Raspberry, almond, and cream cheese. You can’t go wrong with those, can you? I always bake a lot of my Christmas gifts so I’ll have to remember these for next year.
I love Southern Living….I should really buy more of their cookbooks. These look great.
These little tarts are absolutely delicious . I did have a major problem with them sticking like glue to the pans even though I did grease them. Luckily I was able to transfer them to mini cupcake liners which held them together. I probably caused my own problem by using more of the egg/sugar mixture in each one than I should have . I hate wasting things!! For my next batch I will put the heavy lined mini cupcake liners in first, then form the dough, and I think that will work better for me. I also used my chocolate raspberry jam which puts most things over the top for flavor. Thanks for a wonderful recipe from everyone who bought them at the cookie sale!!
I’m glad you liked them!
These tarts are indeed yummy. I made these with the intention of gifting them. Sadly, only 13 of 24 came out unbroken. It seems a bit begrudging to give someone just 12 or 13 tarts. Back to Amazon. Serves me right to put such a hook on a first-try recipe.
Sheltering in place allows more time for baking, and I’ve been craving raspberry almond tarts like I used to have as a kid at Christmas. Thanks so much for this recipe and inspiring me to try! They are delicious! I see that they can be frozen for months, but short term, Can they be kept at room temp?
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Annalise! I would refrigerate if they won’t be eaten within a day or two.
Why am I the only one who does not see salt list in the directions. I assume its for the dough yet pecan tassies uses same recipe for dough with no salt in the recipe.
Hi, Barb. Yes, it’s mixed into the dough. Thanks for pointing out my omission!
Not sure what went wrong for me, but mine totally fell apart when I tried to remove them from the pans. I sprayed with Pam and let them rest for 10 minutes but they crumbled.
I’m sorry you had troubles, Leslie! They are on the delicate side, but I find they stay intact when I remove them carefully from a well-greased pan. Something thin like a small offset spatula usually works well to loosen them.
I followed the recipe exactly as above. Why would my dough turn out so crumbly? It had the consistency of bread crumbs, wold not bind at all.
I’m sorry you had troubles, David! This is a crumbly dough, but what you described sounds more extreme. If you didn’t change anything at all and are confident in your measurements, then that leaves either mixing technique or ingredient quality. For a short dough like this, you can drizzle a small amount of water over the dough to help it hold together better. Just be careful, as too much water can make the finished product tough.
I have been making these for years. They are always a hit at our Christmas party’s. I like to double the recipe. How much does 1/3 cup of almond paste weigh. Can I use the entire 8 oz package. Thanks, Carol
I’m glad these are such a hit for you, Carol! 1/3 cup of almond paste should weight about 85g, which is roughly 3 ounces.
I know this is an old post, but I just found it. I too have been making these for years—absolutely one of our holiday favorites. My dough recipe is exactly the same as yours, so I don’t understand some of the other comments about it being crumbly or sticking to the muffin tin. This dough should not be crumbly pre-baking, it still turns out very flaky when baked. Maybe sticking is due to filling leaking through the dough cups? Tips: for folks having trouble with sticking to the pan,, make sure you don’t have any holes in your dough before filling. If you see holes or extremely thin areas, “massage” a thicker area of dough over to cover the too-thin part. Also, don’t overfill. Finally, I spray a little cooking spray into each muffin tin cavity, then spread it around with a small pastry brush before adding the dough. Every single one pops right out. And Jennifer, you’re right, a pastry dough tamper makes this so much easier. I put a ball of dough in the tin, flour my tamper, then press firmly straight down, then wiggle the tamper out. Makes perfect “cups” every time.
Thanks for sharing your tips, Thomas!