Christmas Tree-Tarts | How to make Christmas Tree Tarts at home| Eggless Recipe | Christmas Special

Hi Supermoms,

The Month of December for me is all about celebrating the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ , saying thanks and being thankful .From decorating the Christmas tree , soaking the dry fruits for the Christmas Cake, shopping for ingredients to start early baking of ginger bread cookies, sugar cookies, tarts and pies, preparing edible gifts for friends..….my home smells almost  like a bakery!! Christmas is all about sharing, caring, giving  and spreading love. So, today I am going to share a yummy Christmas treat specially created for you all -Christmas Tree Tarts.

Flaky tart with fresh strawberry and almond filling. With just few ingredients you can bake these Tree tarts and bring sparkles to your Christmas Party.  Merry Christmas !!!

Christmas Tree Tarts 

Preparation time : 1 & 1/2 hours

cooking time : 20-22 minutes

serves : 4

Special Equipment/ vessel required : Tree shaped Cookie cutters , wooden ice-cream sticks

Storage: Keeps good for upto a month when frozen. Upto 3 days in room temperature when stored in a clean airtight container and upto a week in the refrigerator.

ingredients:

For the pastry:

250 gms All Purpose Flour

2 teaspoons Powdered Sugar

50 gms butter (cold)

35 ml Cold milk( adjust)

A pinch of salt

For the Filling:

150 gms fresh Strawberries 

2 teaspoons castor sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 teaspoon Almond Flour

For the Glaze:

1 teaspoon castor sugar

2 teaspoon Milk

Method:

1. To make the pastry dough, add flour, sugar,salt and mix well using a fork. 
2. Add cold butter and pinch together the butter and flour mixture to incorporate the butter into the flour. Mix till you get a crumbly texture.
3. Add the cold mix little by little and mix to form a stiff dough. Do not knead.
4. Cover the pastry dough with a cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. In the mean time , hull the strawberries and finely chop them.
6. Add cornflour and castor sugar to the chopped strawberries and mix well.
7. Lightly flour your working space, roll the dough into a large rectangle of around 3mm in thickness.
8. Using the cookie cutter, cut them into  shapes. You will need a pair of trees to make one tart.
9. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or butter paper. Arrange one tree of each pair on the baking tray.
10. Brush the tree with milk. Layer the trees with almond flour carefully leaving the corners. 
11. Press one ice cream stick in the middle of each tree. 
12. Now spread the strawberry mixture on top of the almond flour,  again carefully leaving the corners.
13. Place the other pair of the tree cut out on top of the filling and pinch to seal the edges.
14. Using a fork, carefully crimp the edges .
15. Poke holes with the fork on top of each tree to allow steam to escape. 
16. Let the prepared Tart-trees rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
17. Preheat oven at 175 degrees C .
18. Remove the Tart-trees from refrigerator and brush them with milk and sprinkle the castor sugar on top.
19. Bake the Tart-trees for approximately 17-20 minutes , or till the time they turn brown in the sides, rotating the baking tray halfway through baking to ensure uniform browning.
20. Cool the Tart-trees in a cooling rack.
21.  Serve immediately or store for later.
22. You can sprinkle coloured sugar just before serving.

Chef Tips:

1. You can prepare the pastry dough a day earlier and refrigerate .
2. Soak the wooden ice-cream sticks in water at least for an hour before baking to prevent the sticks from getting burnt.Wipe them well before you insert them in the tart.
3. You can use coconut flour instead of almond flour if you are allergic to nuts.
4. You can get creative and also add coloured sugar glaze to coat the trees. 
5. You can use Whole Wheat Flour to make it more healthy.

Happy Cooking!

With love,

Masterchefmom