Mini Fruit Tarts

Melt in your mouth, tender, flaky, mmmm.  I kinda have a thing for puff pastry! These tasty desserts/extra special breakfast items were born out of an ancestral recipe. Kolaches are a family favorite from my beloved Czechs line again. They are made with simple sweet, yeasted dough and traditionally have a poppy seed or nut and date filling.  Puff pastry is completely different dough, and I use what ever filling is convenient, with gobs of them in my freezer, apricot and blueberry make good sense. 

The last time I had kolaches was when my grandfather died 17 years ago.  Many neighbor’s and friend brought them to my grandma’s house for the family to enjoy, how comforting they were!  Though I have recipes for the sweet treat, I have never made them myself.  I always reverently think of them when I am making these tarts, which makes them extra special.

Trader Joes has their all butter puff pastry back in stock, so if you are not up for making my homemade version at the moment, grab some there.  The glaze is up to you, I think they are still wonderful without, but it is nice to add to your desired sweetness.  It is fun to have a variety of fillings and see all the colors randomly placed together.  Note that a little goes a long way, each little tart can only handle a rounded tablespoon.  Also, jam does not have enough starch to hold up in the oven.

1 cup pureed fruit (may be slightly chunky)

½ cup honey (I used sucanat with blueberries)

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 recipe puff pastry

½ cup powdered sucanat

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm fruit in a sauce pan.  Stir arrowroot powder in with the honey and add to fruit.  Cook to a simmer.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.  Let cool.  Cut pastry with a round cookie cutter and place circles on baking sheet 1 inch apart.  Combine the left over pieces by pressing them together lightly and cutting for more rustic rounds (this keeps the light texture, re rolling makes them tougher.) Let rise for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Push your thumb in the center of every round to make a dent for the filling. Carefully place 1 heaping tablespoon filling in each dent.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until pastry is lightly browned.  Mix sucanat, butter and vanilla until smooth.  Drizzle on warm tarts or brush glaze on edges. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

I have had good luck freezing the finished product and popping them in the toaster oven on low for 10 minutes to thaw and reheat.

links; Simple Lives Thursdays, Whole Foods for the Holiday's