Mini Apple Tarts

A delicious apple tart warm or cold.
A while back I bought mini tart shells imagining I would be using them weekly. Well, It's been almost a year since I bought them, still unused. I decided today was the day I created something tasty with these pans!

Step 1: The Dough

For the dough I mixed 1/2 cup of margarine with 1/4 cup of sugar until just mixed. I then added 1 1/2 cups of flour that had a pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, a pinch of ginger and a pinch of nutmeg already sifted in. Mix your dough until just combined and no more. Wrap up your dough and put it in the fridge for about 40 minutes.

Step 2: Rolling the Dough

Roll your dough out to about 1/4 inch and lay it in your tart shell pans. I used a fork to poke holes in the dough so when it baked the air bubbles could escape and leave the finished product without air bubbles. I baked these in a 400 degree oven until they were almost golden brown (8-10 minutes but keep and eye on them because my oven is kinda wonky).
Pull your shells out and brush them with a thin coat of beaten egg, this will keep your shells nice and crisp once all of the wet filling is added. Put them back in the oven until everything is a light golden brown. Pull your shells out and leave them to cool.

Step 3: The Filling

I cut up 3 Macintosh apples (use your favorite) roughly and put them in a pot with the juice and zest of half a lemon, 2 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of margarine, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of both ginger and nutmeg.
I cooked this on medium heat until the apples were nice and soft. Leave this mixture to cool slightly.

Step 4: Apples on Top

I took another 3 macs, cored them and sliced them up. These will be put on top to make our tart pretty. I left them soaking in water with lemon juice to help keep them from discoloring. If you were working with a firmer apple you could cook these down a bit but at the end we will be broiling these apples and I found mine softened to a good consistency like that.

Step 5: Filling Your Tarts

With all of my elements slightly cooled I even divided my apple filling between all 7 tart shells. One top I tried to fan out my apples into a nice pattern but they were a little large to do what I had intended. Lay them however you would like and sprinkle with a touch of white sugar and cinnamon, then broil in the oven to just melt the sugar.

I am a huge fan of pies and tarts cold but I have to admit I couldn't wait until they cooled off and they were delicious then as well :)