Cranberry-Almond Shortbread Tart

This cranberry-almond shortbread tart features a shortbread crust flavored with almonds and cornmeal, and filled with a tart homemade cranberry jam brightened with lemon juice and apricot jam.

This cranberry tart is easy to make ahead. First, you can make the dough and refrigerate it up to two days or freeze it for up to two weeks.

You can also store the assembled and baked tart at room temperature up to two days, well wrapped. It can also be frozen, well wrapped, for up to two weeks.

I cannot believe it's already November. Are you ready for the holidays? I'm sure not. This year it's my turn to host the family gathering on Christmas Eve, and I haven't done much to get organized.

Fortunately, everyone helps by bringing dishes. In fact, it's one big pot luck full of deliciousness. I just need to get my butt in gear and plan!

When it comes to cranberries, though, I do like to plan. Every year, when fresh cranberries first appear on the scene, I grab as many bags as I can fit in my freezer so that I can bake with them all year long. The cranberries freeze so well, better than any other fruit, even if you open the bag and just take a few. They never seem to ice over.

I've got lots of cranberry recipes here that I've made from my frozen cranberry stash, including Cranberry Crumble Bars, Cranberry Horseradish Pan Fried Steak, Sourdough Date Nut Cranberry Muffins, Cranberry Apple Crisp, and Cranberry Breakfast Buns.

In fact, the cranberries I used in this tart are from a bag I bought last year. My local Ralph's still doesn't have cranberries yet!

To make this cranberry tart, you use half of the dough to make the crust. You bake it, fill it with the tart cranberry filling, crumble the other half of the dough over the filling, and then bake the tart until the dough on top is golden brown.

The tart is like a giant jam-filled short bread cookie, only way more elegant. It's delicious on its own, dusted with powdered sugar, or topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Welcome to #CranberryWeek, an annual event hosted by Caroline's Cooking. We are all posting recipes using cranberries: fresh, frozen, dried, cranberry sauce, and cranberry juice.

I'm excited to be sharing this recipe as part of Cranberry Week - now in it's third year! See all the tasty cranberry recipes being shared today below and follow #cranberryweek on social media for more ideas all week long.

Cranberry Apple Pie from The Redhead Baker

Cranberry Almond Shortbread Tart from Karen's Kitchen Stories

Cranberry Cheese Ball from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

Cranberry Chipotle Glazed Baked Salmon from Palatable Pastime

Cranberry Cream Cheese Spread from Our Good Life

Fall Pizza with Sausage and Squash from Caroline's Cooking

Maple Honey Cranberry Sauce from Jolene's Recipe Journal

Quinoa with Turkey, Brussels Sprouts & Cranberries from Books n' Cooks

tart, cranberry, shortbread, dessert, holiday food

Thanksgiving, dessert

American

Yield: 8 to 10 servingsAuthor: Karen Kerr

Cranberry-Almond Shortbread Tart

ingredients

Cranberry Filling

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 12 ounces fresh or frozen and thawed cranberries
• 3 tablespoons apricot jam

Shortbread

• 3 1/2 ounces sliced almonds (about 1 cup)
• 9 ounces (2 cups) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 ounces (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) fine yellow cornmeal
• 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and slightly softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 large egg yolk

instructions

Filling

1. In a 3 quart saucepan, combine the sugar, lemon juice, and water and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. 
2. Add the cranberries and reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, until the mixture is like syrup. Add the apricot jam and simmer for another minute. Take the pan of the heat and let the filling cool completely. 

Shortbread Tart

1. With a rack in the center, heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Sprinkle the almond sliced over a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes, until fragrant. Cool completely. 
2. Add the almonds to a large food processor, along with 2 tablespoons of the flour. Pulse about 20 to 25 times. Place the ground almonds in a large bowl and whisk in the rest of the flour, the cornmeal, and the salt. 
3. Add the butter, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extract to the food processor, and pulse until creamy, about 10 to 20 times. Add the egg yolk and pulse to combine. Add the flour mixture and pulse until you have a soft dough (30 to 40 pulses). Scrape down the sides if necessary. 
4. Turn the dough out and divide it into two equal pieces. Spray a 9 1/2 inch tart pan with a removable bottom with spray oil, and press half of the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill. Wrap the other half of the dough in plastic, and refrigerate. 
5. Prick the bottom of the dough in the tart pan all over with a fork. Place the tart pan on a sheet pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and press down on the bottom of the shortbread crust with the back of a spoon to tamp down any puffiness. Spread the filling into the tart pan. 
6. Take the rest of the shortbread and crumble it over the top of the cranberry filling in uneven pieces, covering the filling. Bake the tart for 30 to 35 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2018/11/cranberry-almond-shortbread-tart.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking Oct/Nov 2012 (no longer in print). 

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