RUSTIC MIXED BERRY HEART TARTS with PROCESS SHOTS

These are fun, delicious, and perfect for basically anytime of year if you have access to frozen berries. I hope you make them and enjoy.

 Rustic Mixed Berry Heart Tarts (Process Shots)

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: about 10 hearts or 8 servings

Ingredients

For Crust:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 6 tablespoons lard, coconut oil, or vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) ice cold butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup ice cold water

For Filling

• 2 1/2 cups fresh (or frozen) mixed berries
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water for eggwash (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of food processor and pulse. Add butter and lard and pulse a few times more until crumbly. Add water and process until the dough comes together, adding more water if necessary. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and divide into two halves. Flatten into disks and wrap each in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 1 hour or until you're ready to use it.
2. While pastry is chilling, make filling. Combine all ingredients for filling in a large mixing bowl and gently toss berries to coat.
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees F (200 C) and line 2 baking trays very well with parchment, foil, or silicone pads (it's a guarantee these tarts are going to leak.)
4. Roll out one half of pastry dough on lightly floured surface and use a knife to cut a rounded triangle shape (alternatively, you can just make circles to keep it simple.). Spoon about 1/4 cup of filling onto crust in the shape of a heart (see pictures). Fold about an inch of the edges all the way around filling. Use a large spatula to place on baking tray and repeat steps until all tarts are made.
5. If desired, brush edges with eggwash for browning then place in oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until edges are golden.
6. Remove and cool for about five minutes before serving. These are great topped with vanilla ice cream.

And for no reason whatsoever, here is a picture of our two puppies.  They are female Great Pyrenees and only about 3 months old.  I'll be posting more about them later, don't worry.

On a totally separate and more serious note, today is a historic day in Venezuela.  If you are not familiar with recent events in Venezuela, I encourage you to do a little search and discover how horrible things have become, lack of food, lack of medicine, etc.  Today, a large number of people are marching on the capital in an attempt to enforce a lawfully passed impeachment of the current president.  There's very little on mainstream media, but if you look a little harder, you will find some content on Twitter.  I may post a more comprehensive post on this tomorrow, maybe.  This kind of commentary is not my expertise, but I feel the story needs to be told.  I have friends that are in Venezuela and to hear their stories is heart breaking.