Almond Mixed Nut Crust

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Makes 43 mini tarts

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Almond Mixed Nut Crust Ingredients:

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*2 cups Mixed Nuts (Planters Unsalted Premium Blended of Almonds, Pecans, Brazil Nuts and Pistachios) chopped fine in food processor

*1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

*3 cups All-purpose Flour

*2/3 cup Butter, room temperature

*1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

*1/2- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

*1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract

*1-2 tablespoons Water only if needed for texture

*1-2 egg whites for brushing tart crust right after baking

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Supplies:

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*12-24 Mini Tart Tins

*Baking Sheet, to place tart tins on to bake

*Cooking Spray, like Pam

*Saran Wrap

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Pulse together the above crust ingredients except egg whites, until moist crumbles. Add water if needed.

Form dough in plastic wrap and divide dough into two pie dough disks and refrigerate 1-2 hours
Scoop 2 tablespoons pie crust mixture and press into Pam cooking sprayed small tart tins (Tart tin size measures 2 1/2 inch across the top of each individual tart tin) or adjust to mini tart pan size. See pictures below for tips.

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Bake tart shell tins on baking Sheet in a 350*F. oven for 14-16 minutes. Then remove from oven and brush each hot tart shell with whisked egg mixture. (This will bake as they cool off. This helps so crusts don’t get soggy.)

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After cooling, fill tarts with lemon curd or other filling of your choice and top with a dollop of cream.

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Lemon Curd

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Makes 2 cups

Fills 35 Mini Tarts, tablespoon each of lemon curd

Lemon Curd recipe adapted from  Fine Cooking Elinor Klivans

Lemon Curd Ingredients:

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*3 ounces (6 tablespoons) Butter, unsalted if desired

*1 cup Sugar

*2 large Eggs, room temperature

*2 Egg Yolks, room temperature

*2/3 cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice, strained

*1 tablespoon Lemon Zest, added after cooking curd

In a glass or stainless steel mixing bowl, cream together with a hand mixer the butter, sugar and beat until fluffy about 1-2 minutes. Then add the eggs 1 at a time and beat 2 more minutes. Then remove beaters from bowl and fold or stir in the lemon juice, the mixture will curdle.

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Now in a heavy based sauce pan add the lemon curd mixture and on low-heat melt the mixture together for about 2-3 minutes. Then turn up to a medium-heat, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon or high temp silicone spatula/ scraper, cook the mixture until it thickens (not to exceed 170*F.) about 8-15 minutes. When thickened, pour the sauce through strainer into glass bowl and place bowl in a cold water bath, the lemon curd sauce will thicken more as it cools to room temperature.  Add lemon zest and stir into lemon curd.

Then place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of curd mixture to prevent a crud crust from forming and refrigerate until set.    Scoop the lemon curd into pre-made tart shells and refrigerate, serve tarts with Mini Meringue Toppers or with a dollop of whipped cream topping.

**Variation:  To make a Lemon Curd Mousse add the whipped cream (save some of the whipped cream for topping if desired) to the cooled curd and stir together until creamy.   Scoop lemon curd mixture into tart shells, pie crusts or cream puffs and etc…

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Keeping lemon curd in an airtight container in the fridge and it will keep for 1 week or the freezer up to 2 months

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**Variation Lemon Curd Mousse:

Whipped Cream:

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*1 to 1  1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream, whipped to medium peaks

In a clean grease free glass or stainless steel mixing bowl (I like to rub a slice of lemon on the inside of the mixing bowl or you can use a little lemon juice added to a paper towel to make the bowl grease free) chilled in fridge.  Then add to chilled mixing bowl the heavy whipping cream and whip to medium peaks using a hand or stand mixer.

Fold in 1 cup of the whipped cream (saving (1/2 cup of the whipped whip cream for topping) into 1/2 lemon curd mixture for layering effect of plain lemon curd and lemon curd mousse or add all the whipped whip cream to lemon curd mixture.

Use the Lemon Curd Mousse filling in tarts, pie crust and cream puffs or it can be scooped into individual cups  etc…

See Lemon Mini Meringue Cookie Toppers

Also See Lemon Tarts with Cookie Crust and Paris Bridal Shower

 

 

 

See Lemon Mini Meringue Cookie Toppers

Enjoy!

Lindy