Pear-and-raisin Tartlets – Country Living

FILLING
3 md (about 1 1/2 lb) firm Bosc 1/2 c Orange juice
-pears, peeled, halved, 2 tb Finely chopped crystallized
-and cored -ginger
1 tb Butter or margarine 1 tb Cornstarch
1/2 c Golden or dark seedless 1 tb Water
-raisins

1. Prepare Cookie Crust: In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed,
beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Separate 1 egg, adding egg white
to the butter mixture and placing egg yolk and water in small bowl.
Cover and refrigerate yolk mixture. Add remaining egg and the vanilla
to butter mixture and beat until well mixed.

2. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat 1 C flour, the baking
powder, and nutmeg into butter mixture. With spoon or fingertips,
work in enough additional flour until cookie dough is firm enough to
shape into a ball. Wrap and refrigerate dough at least 1 hour or
overnight.

3. Meanwhile, prepare Filling: Cut pears into 1/2-inch cubes. In
2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add pears and saute
just until pears begin to soften. Stir in raisins, orange juice, and
ginger; heat to boiling.

4. Meanwhile, in cup, mix cornstarch and water until smooth. Stir
cornstarch mixture into pear mixture and reheat to boiling, stirring
constantly, until thickened. Remove saucepan from heat and cool
filling to room temperature. (Filling can be made ahead; cool, cover,
and refrigerate.)

5. Heat oven to 375’F. Divide cookie dough into 8 pieces and shape
each into a ball. On lightly floured surface, roll each ball to a 5
1/2-inch round. Fit into a 3-inch aluminum-foil tartiet pan. With a
knife, trim off excess dough and reserve. Place crust-lined tartlet
pans on a jelly-roll pan or baking sheet. Divide Filling among
tartlet pans and brush rim of each with some reserved yolk mixture.

6. Gather dough trimmings into a ball and reroll to 1/8-inch
thickness. Using 1 1/4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut dough
into hearts. Arrange 4 or 5 cookie hearts, with point of each toward
center, around top rim of each tartlet to almost cover Filling. Brush
top of each tartlet with yolk mixture.

7. Bake tartiets 20 to 25 minutes or until filling bubbles in the
center. Cool to room temperature on wire rack. Store in airtight
container.