These tarts are a hot mess of ooey-gooey goodness, and as an added bonus they are quite large. These are the absolute best when still warm out of the oven, but if any are left over (Ha ha ha… yeah, right!) they can be re-heated by covering in foil and warming them in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. The crust is the tried-and-true recipe everyone knows and loves, and can be used for many different varieties of pies and tarts. Warning: Do NOT wear a white shirt while eating!
THE CRUST
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 2/3 cup + 2 tbsp. Shortening
- About 6 tbsp. ice cold water
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Place several ice cubes in a large drinking glass or Pyrex measuring cup and add cold water. Set aside.
- Mix flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Add shortening and combine with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Slowly add ice cold water, thoroughly combining with flour mixture until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and is joined into one large, slightly moist lump.
- Turn approximately half the dough out onto a floured surface, flipping until the exterior is coated in dry flour.
- Press down with your hands into a very rough approximation of the shape you want.
- Use a floured rolling pin to roll dough until it is less than 1/4 inch thick. Thinner is better (1/8 inch is ideal!) but too thin and your crust may be inundated with juices from your filling and have a soggy bottom like a toilet-training toddler.
- Place a single-serving aluminum pie tin upside-down on the dough, and cut with a sharp paring knife approximately one inch wider than the lip of the pan.
- Line pan with the dough you have just cut. It should protrude above the lip of the pan.
- Repeat cutting dough and lining pans until four aluminum pans have been lined with dough.
- Turn out remaining dough onto a floured surface, flipping until the exterior is coated in dry flour.
- Press down with your hands into a very rough approximation of the shape you want.
- Use a floured rolling pin to roll dough until it is less than 1/4 inch thick. Again, 1/8 inch is ideal.
- Use a clean ruler as a guide and cut dough into 1/2 inch wide strips with a pizza cutter.
- Set strips aside, and keep the ice water handy.
Sneaky Trick: Don’t have a pastry blender? A fork held in each hand will also perform this task admirably. Just pull them across one another against the bottom of the bowl until you have that crumbly consistency you want.
THE PIE
Ingredients
- 16 oz. Frozen Mixed Berries or Fresh Berries (Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, and Strawberries are the traditional mix, but go crazy!)
- 3/4 cup White Sugar
- 1/4 cup Corn Starch
- 4 tbsp. Margarine
- 1 Egg White, Beaten
Directions
- Pour frozen mixed berries into a large bowl to defrost while you are preparing your crust. If they’re slow to thaw, pop them in the microwave on a defrost setting for a few minutes. They don’t need to be completely soft, just not hard as a rock. Your berries can also be fresh.
- Cut any extra-large mutant strawberries until they are about the same size as the blackberries and raspberries.
- Add sugar and corn starch to berries and combine. Avoid crushing berries as much as possible while mixing.
- Spoon berry mixture into prepared pie crusts and dot each tart with 1 tbsp. margarine, cut into a few small pieces.
- Moisten ends of dough strips with ice water and use strips to create a lattice pattern on the top of each tart.
- Press the ends of the lattice strips into edges of bottom crust, dipping your fingers into the ice water to help them adhere if they’re stubborn.
- Crimp edges of bottom crust and lattice strips around the edges of the pans.
- Put tarts on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. (If you skip this step, you will have to clean your oven and stand on a chair to turn off the smoke detector. Just sayin’.)
- Brush crust with beaten egg white.
- Bake in pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes, until pastry has browned and filling is bubbly.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Sneaky trick: Don’t want to go to the trouble of making a lattice crust, but want it to look like you slaved over the proverbial hot stove for hours? Roll top crusts and trim to about 1/2 inch wider than the top rim of the pans. Use small cookie cutters to make shaped holes in the dough and set cut-outs aside. Attach top crust to the tart, and dab the dough cut-outs with a little ice water. Reattach the cut-outs over the holes you made in the crust, but slightly off center from where the holes are. This will vent your tarts and give you a snazzy look.