Relaxing this morning with a cup of coffee, while looking out on the fresh fallen snow, Christmas comes to mind, and all of the treats the season brings. The holiday movies waiting to be watched, the decorations that need to be put up and the cards needing to be signed and mailed. It can be hectic, but with a little planning and a sense of calm, it can be a wonderful time to fill your home with the fragrances of this very special time of year.
A new dessert I recently made and really did enjoy immensely has found it's way on my list of favourites to share with friends and family. It is a small bite of joy, and with the top garnished with a fresh red raspberry, it does have a Christmas feel. Thanks to Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, their recipe has found a home in my box, and hopefully will find it's way into yours. Ingredients for the recipe are listed at the bottom of this post.
Buy a package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, and taking one half of the package, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is 12in x 12 inches in size. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 2in x 2in squares.
Press squares into the cups of a lightly greased mini muffin pan. Brush the edges of the squares with beaten egg. Prick the inside bottoms of the squares with a fork, so they can breathe while baking. Bake for ten minutes or until golden brown in a preheated oven set at 375 degrees.
Remove the cups from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack to cool for ten minutes, as soon as you pull them out, press the centers down with the back of a spoon to form little indention's in the cups. Remove from the pan and set on a tray to finish cooling, to fill, and garnish.
With an electric blender, beat your room temperature cream cheese until soft and smooth. Add the lemon curd and blend. Fold in your whipped topping.
Using a pastry bag, fill each cup to the brim with the lemon cream mixture and garnish the top with a fresh raspberry.
Set your mini tartlets in the frig on a tray for approx. ten minutes to allow the mixture to set and become firm.
You can make these a day ahead of time if you are planning to take them to a special event you are attending. They are small bites of loveliness, I doubled the recipe and allowed two for each person, 48 total : ) Delicious!
What ingredients you will need to make their recipe : )
1-17oz package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, only use half the package
1 egg beaten
4oz cream cheese
1/2 cup lemon curd
1/2 cup thawed frozen whipped topping
fresh raspberries
Their recipe says you can cut 36 2in squares from the rolled out 12x12 pastry, but I was only able to get 24 as I probably cut them more into 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inch squares, which ended up being perfect because my mini muffin pan is for 24. Otherwise, the recipe worked out for me perfectly, very easy to follow, make and assemble : )
