Cranberry Heart Tarts

Prep Time:
10 Min

Cook Time:
15 Min

Yields:
Servings

Ingredients

• 1 box of pre-made pie crusts
• Leftover cranberry sauce (these are equally yummy using raspberry jam or fig spread)
• Sugar
• Heart-shaped cookie cutter

Directions

1. Preheat over to 425º. Unroll pie crusts and cut out heart shapes.
2. Put a tiny dollop of cranberry on half the hearts. Don’t overfill the hearts or you will have oozing issues. Top with the remaining hearts. Crimp edges together with fork tines.
3. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle tops with a bit of sugar. OK, get festive and use that red sugar you probably have in the back of a cupboard somewhere. Cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
4. Let cool, then serve to all your friends, making sure to give first dibs to those who professed cranberry love before they tried these.

Besties Bakery Whoopie Pies

Prep Time:
30 Min

Cook Time:
10-12 Min

Yields:
33 Mini-Pies

Ingredients

For Whoopie Pie Dough:

• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 ½ cup flour
• ½ cup cocoa
• 1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. cream of tarter
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla

For Whoopie Pie Filling:

• 2 lbs confectioners sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup Marshmallow Fluff (Marshmallow Cream doesn’t work as well)
• 1 cup shortening
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together milk and vanilla in a small bowl.
3. Beat together shortening and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld.
4. Add egg, beating until combined well.
5. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and milk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth. Do not over mix.
6. For mini-pies use a small (1 inch) scoop of batter about 1 inch apart onto 2 large baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes.
7. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.

For Filling:

1. Beat ingredients together with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Taste halfway through, adding more vanilla if necessary.

*Recipe courtesy of Carolyn Kingston