Ross always asks why I never make desserts with cherries. There are 2 reasons: 1) I don't like cherries that much, and 2) cherries have pits that must be removed prior to baking them into a dessert. In a moment of weakness I found myself at Crate & Barrel buying a cherry pitter, which is like a cool hole puncher but for cherries. They only cost like 12 bucks and don't take up that much drawer space so I felt OK about it. Inspired by this bold act of consumerism I decided then and there to purchase individual tart pans.



It might surprise you to know that I am in possession of a shockingly inadequate supply of baking tools because 1) I would rather spend money on eating out or traveling, and 2) I hate owning a bunch of unstackable crap that doesn't fit in my cupboards. But there I was. Ready to finally go ahead and purchase this item I had long coveted. And you know what? Stupid flagship Crate & Barrel didn't HAVE ANY. They had a whole display of HAMBURGER PRESSES, for goodness' sake. What is up with that? I would bet money that more people are interested in owning 8 individual tart pans than a friggin' cast iron hamburger press. I don't even know what that is or what it does but it's clearly really stupid.

           YES!                                   WHY?

                

But I digress. Cherry pitter in hand, I began to pit cherries. It was messy and time-consuming. I got red splatters all over. Disheartened, bored, and restless after a mere 4 cups (not even) I quit and made the tart anyway, even though there weren't enough cherries. I wanted to add dried cherries to round it out but Ross had eaten them all. So I debated between adding strawberries or chopped dried unsulfured apricots to add some heft to the filling. I went with the apricots, and it was a good choice. They added sweetness and texture, and looked like glistening jewels in the tart. The big, giant, un-individual tart, that is.


Cherry Tart(s)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 T heavy cream
• 2 cups + 2 T flour
• 1 tsp salt
• zest of 3 oranges
• 4+ cups pitted cherries
• 1 cup dried cherries or dried apricots, cut to raisin- sized morsels
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Method:

• In mixer, cream 3/4 cup butter and the white sugar.
• With mixer running, add eggs and cream one at a time and mix.
• Add 2 cups flour, salt, and zest and mix just til combined.
• Roll dough out  on a floured surface, and put into 8 individual tart pans or one large one. (If you are lazy and don't have really hot hands, you can gently press the dough into the pans instead of rolling it- it will be OK.) FYI, you may have a bit of extra dough. Put pan(s) into freezer for at least 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile combine the fruit and dried fruit with remaining 4 Tblsp melted butter, remaining 2 Tblsp flour, vanilla, and brown sugar. Mix to combine and set aside.
• Heat oven to 375.
• Remove pan(s) from freezer. Pour cherry mixture in and spread out.
• Bake until browned- about 15-20 minutes for small tarts, 30 for a large one.
• Remove and let cool to room temp before unmolding.
• Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.