Jam Tarts

From Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol   

 

There are a few chapters in Alice in Wonderland dedicated to these simple pastries. Some may remember the trial over who stole the Queen's jam tarts, where absolutely nothing gets solved and the Queen shouts “Off with their heads!” a lot. It's like a wacky medieval reality TV show. That trial, of course, was inspired by an old English nursery rhyme, which you can find here. Jam tarts are a traditional English tea snack, especially for small children. They were most often made for “Nursery Tea,” a sort of High Tea for kids, where milk is served instead of actual tea (because who needs caffeine when you’re under the age of 10?). For those of you excited about Tim Burton’s upcoming Alice in Wonderland movie, you could celebrate by making some of these and having your own tea party... in about a year. You’ll need tart tins and cookie cutters for this one!

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
  
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
  
• 1 ½ cups jam of your choosing

 

 

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, and chilled butter together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add in the sugar and pulse again to combine.
2. Add the egg yolks and orange zest, and pulse until the dough begins to come together. If needed, add a splash of water to help it bind.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up.
4. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
5. Roll out the dough as thin as possible, then use a cookie cutter to stamp out circles large enough to fit your tart tins. Gently press the dough into the tins to form the base.
6. Bake the pastry shells for 15 minutes, or until they’re lightly golden.
7. Once the bases are done, add a small spoonful of your chosen jam (or jams) to each tart and return them to the oven for an additional 5 minutes.
8. A word of caution, the jam filling will be extremely hot! Let the tarts cool slightly before serving.

 

 

This recipe has been reformatted and reworded for clarity. The method has been streamlined and a small adjustment has been made to the ingredients for better accessibility.