Pineapple Tarts

In her youth, there was a way the Swallow knew that Chinese New Year (CNY) was coming soon.  That was the time when her mother would marshal her and her siblings to bake cookies together.  There were Pinwheel Cookies, Kuih Bangkit and the siblings' favourite Pineapple Tarts.

Baking late into the night, the Swallow's mother would bake trays and trays of cookies.  Some were sold (a form of income for the stay-at-home-mom), some were given away as gifts during the CNY visitations, and the rest were happily enjoyed by the siblings.  These were special treats as in those days, cookies were considered a luxury, something to be enjoyed only during the festive periods.

As the Swallow loves pineapples (LOL!), she was quick to ask her mother for the Pineapple Tart recipe when she finally had her own nest and oven.  However, due to its time-consuming nature, the Swallow was not able to bake her own Pineapple Tarts until recently.

Pineapple Tarts

PINEAPPLE TARTS (makes about 80 tarts)

Ingredients

• 500g plain flour
• 250g cold butter
• 2 eggs
• pinch of salt
• Pineapple Jam

Method

Cooled Pineapple Jam



1. Using a pastry cutter, mix flour, salt and butter together until crumbs develop.
2. Add eggs, one at a time.  Mix until the pastry forms.
3. Roll out the pastry on a flour-dusted table.  Cut out tart shapes using a 1 1/2 inch tart cutter.
4. Fill the tarts with pineapple jam. 
5. For decoration, add a little knob of pastry on top of the jam.
6. Glaze with a mixture of 1 egg and 1 tbsp milk (optional).



Tools for making Pineapple Tarts
From left, clockwise:
1 1/2 inch tart cutter,
round cookie cutter & pincers 

7. Bake at 180 degrees Celcius until the tarts are golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Notes

• If a pastry cutter is not available, improvise with two knives held with a hand.
• If a tart cutter is not available, use any similar-sized round cookie cutter (or even a glass!) and clip the edges of the tarts with pincers.
• For freshness, keep the tarts in an airtight container.