Candied Fruit Tartlets

 

Makes 24

1. Combine chopped dried fruits, jam, sugar, salt, and spices in a bowl.
2. Add citrus juices and zest and rum, and stir well to combine.
3. Seal in a container and refrigerate, stirring every few days if you remember, for 1 week, up to 1 month.
4. Roll out pâte brisée to 1⁄8” thick between lightly floured sheets of parchment, chilling as needed to keep the dough workable.
5. Pierce dough with small cookie cutters of your choice, creating decorative shapes up to 11⁄2”across.
6. Refrigerate shapes on a baking sheet.
7. Plan for 2–5 shapes per tartlet, with a mindset that more on-hand is better than too few. You can always bake the remainder for a “leftovers” dessert or freeze until a new project is born.
8. Roll out puff pastry between lightly floured sheets of parchment, which helps prevent sticking, as well as provides easy transfer to a baking sheet to chill as needed.
9. Once it is 1⁄8” thick, use a 21⁄2” round cutter to pierce 24 circles, re-rolling scraps as needed.
10. Refrigerate the rounds, then carefully mold them to fit a 24-capacity mini muffin tray.
11. Pierce each a few times with a fork and chill.
12. Spoon the fruit-spice mixture into the pastry, along with a couple tiny cubes of butter intermingling per tartlet.
13. Gently compact tartlet filling before adding the shortcrust cutout tops, then freeze for at least 1⁄2 hour.
14. Preheat oven to 400°F while tartlets chill.
15. Brush egg wash onto the pastry tops and bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.
16. If the pâte brisée tops brown too quickly, cover with foil.
17. Lower heat to 350°F and bake 10 minutes more, until the crust is deeply golden.
18. Cool briefly in the muffin tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
19. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve room temperature.

TIP:

The filling must set for at least a week, up to one month, for best flavor.