Cherry Cheesecake Tarts
If your children or grandchildren are looking for a perfect gift to give their teachers, these may be the answer. Dress up each tart with a paper doily, place on a colorful plastic or paper plate and cover with clear wrap. Secure with a festive bow or a gift card and tag. And don't forget to include the recipe for the tart. When I gave this as a gift to each of the secretaries at the high school where I work, it soon became a hit with their families, too!
Ingredients
- 1 package (10 ounces) frozen puff pastry shells
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
- Additional confectioners' sugar
Reviews
I get more compliments on this recipe than any thing I make and almost everyone immediately asks for the recipie. For the frustrated reviewer....the key is using Peppridge Farm Pastry Shells. I follow the recipe exactly. I very carefully remove the little round top, by gently cutting around it and lift off, then setting it aside for later. Be sure you carefully remove the soft layers from the inside before filling. I find that a fork is the easiest way to remove it. ( I do save and bake the soft layers, for a little tart). I prefer the almond extract, as the recipe calls, but I have used vanilla extract and it is good with that too.
Making this recipe was very frustrating for me. There were no clear directions for the pastry puffs, they are cooked to each recipes specifications and this recipe didn't have any. I did try two different types of pastry puffs and one was very small and the other was a square that I guess you were supposed to cut (?) into sections. After doing that they did not look anything like the picture for this recipe. In the square shape, some of the pastries didn't rise and the others rose and were very large and flaky. It was also very hard to cut them and remove the layers inside in order to put the filling in. In my opinion, it was too time consuming for the few that turned out. For that reason, I will not make these again.
I have made these Cherry or Blueberry Cheesecake Tarts several times for church functions. Every time I make them, I get rave reviews. I even get requests from people to make them for future events. Wonderful recipe!!!