Tonight, Drew and I are going to be in the office late. We have many projects to work on and finish up before I head home for a visit in a few days. This is the scene:

Homemade ice cream paired with tart crust cookies are keeping me company as well. Yesterday I made a tart to take with me to a summer outside barbecue with some friends. I used the leftover crust dough and baked it into tart crust cookies. They are the perfect mix between shortbread and sugar cookies. It definitely reminds me of the homemade ice cream and crusty cookie combination that Drew and I had for dessert on our 3rd anniversary dinner, here. 🙂

Since I’ve promised to get better about adding recipes into my blog, I’ve also put together my Fruit Tart recipe here for you. 🙂 It isn’t necessarily a hard thing to make, but I would say it is an intermediate recipe. You will need a tart pan, a rolling pin, unsalted butter, a mixer (or pastry cutter) and various other things, so definitely look it over before you jump right in with it. 🙂

Fruit Tart

Tart Dough:
Ingredients:
-1 egg yolk
-2 Tbs. very cold water
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-1 1/4 c. flour
-1/3 c. sugar
-1/4 tsp. salt
-8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted cold butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

Directions:
1. In small bowl, stir together egg yolk, water & vanilla. Set aside.
2. In stand mixer fitted with flat beater, stir together flour, sugar, & salt.
3. Add butter cubes to mixer & beat on med-low speed until texture resembles course cornmeal. (butter pieces no larger than small peas)
4. Add egg mixture & beat just until dough pulls together.
5. Transfer dough to clean work surface, pat into a ball & flatten. Use immediately or refrigerate until well chilled (30 minutes).
6. Roll out dough on floured surface until 2 in. greater in diameter than tart pan & 1/8 in. thick, lightly flouring rolling pin or dough as needed.
7. Transfer to tart pan & trim excess dough. Press dough into the sides & extend it slightly above the rim to offset any shrinkage during baking.
8. Refrigerate until firm while oven preheats to 375 degrees.
9. Line pastry shell with aluminum foil & fill with pie weights (or dry, uncooked beans).
10. Bake for 20 minutes. Lift edge of foil–if dough looks wet, continue to bake, checking every 5 minutes, until dough is pale gold. (total baking time 25-30 min)
11. Remove weights & foil. Continue to bake (up to 10 min more) until shell is golden. Be very careful! If dough is too thin, it will burn easily!
12. Transfer to wire rack & let cool completely.

*If you have any excess dough, it makes excellent Tart Crust Cookies. Cut dough into cookie shapes and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 until golden, or about 7-13 minutes.

Filling & Topping:
Ingredients:
-8 oz. cream cheese (1 package)–room temperature
-1/4 c. powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Beat cream cheese & powdered sugar until smooth.
2. Spread evenly into bottom of cooled tart shell.
3. Top with strawberries, blueberries, or whatever fresh fruit you desire. Keep refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Got to get back to work!