Mini pastries feel special, and using a leftover cookie dough as a tart crust is a brilliant shortcut. For these tarts I adapted the brown sugar dough from a brown sugar poppy seed cookie recipe (omitting the poppy seeds) and filled the shells with blackberry jam. The result is a tender, buttery brown-sugar crust with a bright jam center—like a giant thumbprint cookie, but comfortably tart-sized.
Blackberry Jam Tart with Brown Sugar Crust
Makes one 9-inch tart or four 6-inch mini tarts
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Hearty pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional, but adds depth)
- 1 cup blackberry jam
- Coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Method
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate medium bowl, beat the room-temperature butter with the brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Add the egg, heavy cream, and bourbon to the butter-sugar mixture and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture in two additions, stirring until fully incorporated after each addition. Form the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours or overnight. Chilling firms the dough and makes it easier to roll and shape.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Divide the chilled dough into five equal portions. Roll one portion into a 1-inch-diameter log, wrap it, and return it to the refrigerator while you work with the remaining dough.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of dough to about 1/4 inch thick and transfer carefully to your tart pan(s). Trim the excess so you have about an inch of overhang, then fold that edge over and crimp to create double-thick sides that hold up during baking. Spoon about 1/4 cup of blackberry jam into each tart shell.
Unwrap the chilled dough log and slice it into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange as many rounds as comfortably fit across the top of each tart to create a lattice-like cover, or place them decoratively as preferred. If you like a little sparkle, sprinkle the tops lightly with coarse sugar.
Bake the tarts for 20–25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the jam is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving—these are delightful warm or at room temperature.