Apricot Jam Tarts – traditional South African treat for the family

Every family has a special Christmas sweet treat recipe they pull out every year. This Apricot Jam Tarts recipe is no exception and it’s a personal favourite. It’s simply divine and so much fun to bake together as a family. You will need all hands on deck as it is quite a process to prepare this delicious delightful Christmas treat.

You can decide what size you would like the apricot jam tarts to be. The smaller cookie cutter or glass you use to form the tart circles, the more jam tarts you will make.  Just remember, when making a smaller size, you need to adjust the quantity of apricot jam placed in the middle of each tart.  Small jam tarts require about ¼ teaspoon jam in the centre while bigger tarts require about ½ teaspoon.

This is a great recipe to pull out when the family visits for the Christmas season!

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Apricot Jam Tarts

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Recipe by Irene Muller Course: SnacksCuisine: South AfricanDifficulty: Moderate

Prep time

1

hour 

Cooking time

30

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 250 g grated butter (freeze the butter before grating)

• 500 g flour

• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

• ½ teaspoon salt

• soda water (enough to make the dough in a firm ball)

• smooth apricot jam

• 1 egg, beaten with a little milk, to moisten the edge

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F. 
• In a medium bowl, add the dry ingredients.
• Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour, cream of tartar and salt. 
• Using a knife, mix the flour mixture little by little with the soda water. Work it into a soft ball with your one hand. Cover with a wet cloth and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough. If sticky, keep adding flour to the surface. Roll and fold a few times until no longer sticky. 
• Roll out the dough (thinly, but not too thin) and use a cookie cutter or glass to cut out circles. Remove the dough between the circles and form a ball. Cover the ball of dough and put back in the fridge until you’ve finished this batch.
• Add a teaspoon of apricot jam in the middle of each little circle. 
• Using a small pastry brush, brush half of the circle edges with the beaten egg.
• Fold the brushed circle half over to fit on the other circle half. Press with a fork or with your fingers. 
• Prick 3 times with a toothpick in the middle to prevent the apricot jam from oozing out.  
• Repeat until all the dough is used.   
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until light brown.

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