Cherry Tarts comes from the Red Plastic Box collection – a red plastic box stuffed full of recipes that I found at an estate sale a couple of years ago.
The recipe comes from Capper’s Farmer March 1955, page 86
Variations: You may fill shells with your favorite pudding. For real speed, use a packaged mix. Pie fillings of any type are good in these individual servings. They’re a large, generous size. For dainty pastry shells, use a smaller pan lid as the pattern for the foil and pastry.
Of course you’ll try fresh fruits when they’re in season but try frozen fruits, too. Do you have dabs of leftover fruit in the refrigerator? Combine them and serve in the patties. Or, just for fun, let the youngsters choose their dessert from an assortment of fruit-filled tart shells.
Tarts make tasty main dishes also. Fill shells with creamed vegetables, chicken, or tuna. You can even make little beef stew pies! Fill shells with the meat and vegetables, straining off the gravy to serve separately.
Running next to the recipe are two ads – one for Calumet Baking Powder, and another for burlap bags.
Cherry Tarts
Ingredients
Fluted Tart Shells
- 1 cup flour sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 2-2 1/2 tablespoons ice water
- aluminum foil
Cherry Filling
- 2 cups canned unsweetened red cherries with juice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring
- few drops red food coloring
Instructions
Fluted Tart Shells
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Sift dry ingredients, and cut in shortening. Add water, a few drops at a time, blending lightly with a fork. Form into a ball.
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Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut 5 foil circles. Cut 5 pastry circles the same size as the foil circles.
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Place pastry circle on top of foil circle. Make deep flutings of combined foil and pastry to form shells 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inch deep.
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Bake on a cookie sheet at 450 for 10-12 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning. Cool tart shells and remove from foil.
Cherry Filling
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Turn cherries into saucepan. Sift cornstarch and sugar over cherries. Blend lightly.
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Place over medium heat. Bring to boiling point, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Cook about 6 minutes, or until thickened, stirring frequently.
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Remove from heat. Add butter, almond flavoring, and food coloring. Mix well. Chill. Makes enough to fill 5 shells.
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When the cherry filling is sufficiently chilled, fill shells and serve plain or with whipped cream.
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