Lemon Chess Tassies Mini Recipes

LEMON TASSIES

Steps:

• Blend together cream cheese and butter. Stir in flour, form into a ball and chill at least one hour.
• Divide into 24 balls, place in ungreased miniature muffin tins and press dough against bottom and up the sides.
• Combine filling ingredients and mix well, divide among tart shells.
• Bake 25-30 minutes or until set.
• Cool them for several minutes and gently remove them from the tins.

LEMON COCONUT TASSIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Make tassie pastry (#59854) and line mini muffin cups with pastry.
• Beat the eggs, sugar, butter, lemon zest and lemon juice in a bowl.
• Stir in the coconut.
• Divide among 24 mini muffin cups or tassie cups.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Immediately, and very carefully using the tip of a pointed knife, gently knudge out each tassie out of its cup and transfer to a rack to cool.
• If they cool in the pan too long, they are more difficult to remove.
• Your first couple may break (those are the ones I eat on the spot- the rewards of making them!), but you will soon learn just the right'move' to remove them perfectly.

LEMON CHESS TART

Steps:

• For the Tart Shell:.
• In Cuisinart, blend all ingredients while adding the butter in quarter-inch pieces.
• Drizzle in chilled water until dough is thick or holds together when pushing together with fingers.
• Move dough onto wax paper. Press into 1" thick disk and chill for at least one hour. Then press into 10" tart pan.
• Line pastry with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until light brown. While still warm, remove parchment paper.
• Let tart shell rest at room temperature until ready to fill.
• For the Filling:.
• Cream butter until fluffy. Mix sugar with cornstarch. Add to butter and cream together.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon juice (it will curdle; this is okay) and grated peel.
• Pour into a semi-baked 10-inch tart shell and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, or until the filling no longer jiggles.
• Allow to cool, slice and top with berries if desired.

LEMON DREAM TASSIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 36 mini muffin cups with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, stir cookie mix, ground almonds, butter and cream cheese until soft dough forms.
• Shape dough into 36 (1 1/4-inch) balls. Press each ball in bottom and up side of muffin cup.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan, about 30 minutes.
• Remove cookie cups from pan. Fill each with about 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon curd.
• In small bowl, mix frosting and whipped topping until well blended. Pipe or spoon 1 rounded teaspoon frosting mixture on top of each filled cookie cup. Top each with lemon peel and almonds. Store covered in refrigerator.

LEMON TASSIES

Steps:

• For candied lemon zest: Remove zest from lemons with a vegetable peeler, keeping pieces long. Remove white pith using a paring knife, and finely julienne using a very sharp knife. Place julienned zest in a small bowl; cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes; drain.
• Bring 1 cup sugar and the cool water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When sugar is completely dissolved, add julienned zest, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand overnight. Remove zest, and drain on wire rack. Roll in sugar. Dry on wire rack. Store zest in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with rack in upper third. Lightly butter a 24-cup mini-muffin pan; set aside. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flour and butter. Pulse until mixture is the consistency of fine crumbs. Add the sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Process until evenly incorporated and smooth; do not overprocess.
• Divide the dough into quarters. Divide each quarter into 6 pieces. Shape into balls. Place each ball in a muffin cup; press down in the centers so that the dough fits the cups snugly. Set muffin pan on a baking sheet.
• Bake until lightly browned all over and slightly darker at the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer baking sheet with muffin pan to a wire rack to cool.
• Make the filling: In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla until completely smooth. Using a 1/4-ounce ice cream scoop, fill the cooled crusts. Bake until filling is set and just beginning to color at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer muffin pan to a wire rack. Garnish with candied lemon peel. Let cool completely before serving. The tassies may be stored in an airtight container, refrigerated, for up to 3 days.