Tired of All That Jam You Made Last Summer? Here's My Favorite Winter Dessert to Make with It
Sick of all that jam you made (or bought) last summer? I feel you. Capturing summer's fruity abundance in preserves and jams is a natural impulse, wanting to hang on to those warm sunny flavors in anticipation of a long winter. But if you are anything like me, your passion for preserving will far outstrip the needs of your morning toast, and your friends and family have likely begun to gently request a moratorium on spreadable edible gifts.
When I am facing down a cabinet full of too many gleaming jars, I know there is only one thing to do. Make jam tartlets.
My favorite easy winter dessert: jam tartlets
These little two-bite delicacies are also only three ingredients, come together in a flash, and are an ideal sweet treat. You can serve them with afternoon tea or coffee or add a dollop of whipped cream or a small scoop of ice cream for a perfect dessert. You can bring them to gatherings or share around your office. Even the friends who will decline a jar of jam from you will happily accept a box of tartlets.
Better yet, they freeze well, so you can make them in large batches and then store until needed. If you plan well, you can use up most of your jam stash over the course of the winter and spring and clear out that cabinet for next summer's efforts.
How to make jam tartlets
Here's what you need:
1 store-bought two-crust pie crust
Leftover jam of any flavor
Sugar
And here's what you do!
1. Preheat the oven to 400° and get out a mini muffin tin.
2. Cut circles of pie crust about a half-inch wider than one mini-muffin cup (you don't need these to go all the way up the sides of the cups, just enough to create a lip all around the bottom).
3. Gently press the pastry circles into the muffin cups. Using a fork or a skewer, dock the dough so that it won't rise and bubble during baking.
4. Fill each little cup with any jam you love, about halfway up the dough. The jam will bubble as it bakes, and if you fill too high, it will overflow the pastry and might stick to the pan. If you are really worried about sticking, you can use small liners (I recommend the foil ones versus paper).
5. Take the scraps of pastry left over from cutting out the circles, and chop into coarse pieces. Toss these scrap pieces in a small amount of sugar and top the jam with a half-teaspoon or so per tartlet. You can also use a favorite streusel or crumble topping for these if you want to get fancy.
6. Bake for 8-12 minutes, just until the pastry is cooked through and browned. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then transfer to the rack to cool completely. Will keep up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature.
7. To freeze, transfer fully cooled tartlets to a sheet pan lined in parchment, and freeze uncovered until solid, about 3 hours. Then transfer to a zip top bag and pull out as needed.