Cookie Recipes

Pineapple Tarts

These pineapple tarts are one of my all-time favourites, particularly when I go visiting friends and relatives during Chinese Lunar celebrations. I will usually reach for these tarts again and again because I really love the flavour of buttery pastry with the sweet tangy pineapple filling.

As with most baking recipes or dessert recipes for cookies, do not overbake them else your cookies will end up tough and will not have that unique 'melt-in-your-mouth' moment.

100 g			        	Margarine
180 g			        	Butter
60 g			        	Icing Sugar
2			        	Large Egg Yolks
1 tsp			        	Vanilla Essence
1/2 tsp				Salt
1 tsp			         	Lemon Juice
350 g			        	Plain Flour; sifted
50 g			        	Cornflour
1			        	Egg Yolk; for glaze

Ingredients For Pineapple Filling

300 g			        	Grated Pineapple
150 g			        	Castor Sugar
1			        	Cinnamon Stick
1 tsp			        	Pineapple Essence
1/2 tbsp				Lemon Juice

Method

Prepare pineapple filling first. Stirfry grated pineapple together with sugar and cinnamon stick in a wok over medium heat. Keep stirring until the mixture is thick and sticky. (Mixture must be well-cooked else it will turn mouldy within 2 days). Turn off heat and stir in pineapple essence and lemon juice. Remove cinnamon stick. Set filling aside to cool for later use.

For the pastry, cream butter, margarine and sugar until creamy and light. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well each time. Add essence and salt. Fold in sifted plain flour and cornflour. Sprinkle dough with lemon juice. Mix gently until you get a workable dough. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and chill for an hour.

Remove wrap and roll out into 3/4" thickness square. Use a suitable cookie cutter to press firmly onto dough. Brush top of cookies with egg glaze. Spoon pineapple filling which is rolled into a small ball onto centre of each cookie.

Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 25 minutes or until cookies turn golden brown. Store tarts in airtight containers. These pineapple desserts can keep up to 4 days.

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