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Shortbread never fails to delight. Scottish in origin it was once only served during the Christmas season. Today we are enjoying it year round and in so many forms. This recipe is an example of how versatile shortbread can be, as we are not making cookies, but instead individual tart shells.
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The tart shells are formed by pressing small balls of dough into miniature muffin tins and baking until lightly browned. The great thing about these tart shells is that they store very well so you can make them days in advance of serving. In fact, they can be made in large quantities and frozen.
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The filling for these tarts will remind you of cheesecake, only this filling does not need to be baked. It is made with both cream cheese and condensed milk with a little lemon juice and zest added to bring out all the lovely flavors. Again, as with the tart shells, the filling can be made several days in advance and simply covered and stored in the refrigerator. Just be sure to fill the shortbread tarts with the cream mixture the day of serving in order to keep the shortbread wonderfully crisp. These are so pretty when garnished with fresh berries or slices of your favorite fruit.
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Shortbread tarts: Lightly butter, or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray, 36 miniature muffin tins (approximately 2 inches in diameter). Set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven.
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In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together (approximately two minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour, cornstarch, and salt and mix just until incorporated.
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Divide the dough into 36 even pieces and place one ball of dough in the center of each muffin tin. With your fingertips, press the dough up the sides of the individual muffin tin so there is an indentation in the center. Once filled, place the tart pan, with the unbaked shells, in the freezer for about 20 minutes so the shortbread can become firm. (This will help to prevent the shortbread from puffing up during baking.)
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Bake shortbread in the oven until they are a light brown. It will vary based on your oven - but somewhere between 10-20 minutes. Let cool.
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For the filling, blend cream cheese until smooth. Then just throw everything in the bowl. Mix all the yummyness up and voila! Easy as that.
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Depending on when you are serving, leave the tart shells out or freeze them.
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Once you are ready to serve them put a dollop of the cream cheese filling in the shell and garnish as desired. Anything really will go with this. Some suggestions are blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, kiwi, etc.
