Shortbread Tarts With Cream Filling

These are delicious! The tart is good on its own. And the lemon cream filling is divine! The tart shells can be made in advance and refrigerated, tightly covered. Fill the tart shells several hours before serving, and top with fresh berries right before serving! Recipe from joyofbaking.com Note: I used a meyer lemon.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Yields: 30 tartlets

Ingredients

• (Shortbread Tarts)

• 1  cup unsalted butter, room temperature (the better quality of butter the better tasting the results)
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1  tablespoon cornstarch or 1  tablespoon  rice flour
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt

• (Cream Cheese Filling)

• 8  ounces cream cheese
• 14  ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 1⁄3 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
• 1  lemon, zest of
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Tarts:
2. Lightly spray 30 mini muffin tins, set aside.
3. Preheat oven 325 degrees f. Place rack in center.
4. Cream butter and sugar for about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add flour, cornstarch or rice flour, and salt and mix just until incorporated.
5. Roll dough into about 30 balls and place in each muffin tin. With your fingers, press the dough up the sides of the individual muffin tins and to make an indentation in the center.
6. Once filled, place the pan with the shells in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. (this will help prevent the shortbread from puffing up).
7. Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. About halfway through the baking time, lightly prick each shortbread with tines of a fork to keep them from puffing up.
8. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool.
9. When completely cooled, remove the tarts. They are quite fragile so be careful when removing. (Use a toothpick and loosen the edges to remove).
10. Filling:
11. (Making the filling a day ahead will allow the flavors to set in better).
12. Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add the condensed milk, lemon juice, vanilla and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until serving. You can make the filling serveral days in advance.
13. To serve:
14. Fill the tart shells (spoon or pipe) with filling. The filled tarts can be made serveral hours in advance and refrigerated. Just before serving top with fresh berries or cut up fruit.