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–+ servings
Closeup of pineapple tarts.

Homemade Pineapple Tarts

Harriet
Make the best melt in the mouth pineapple tarts with thisrecipe for Chinese New Year cookies. Not just for New Year these are deliciousfor any time of the year.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Allow time for cooling to room temp and time in fridge 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes
Course Desserts
Cuisine Asian
Servings 40 pineapple tarts
Calories 117 kcal

Equipment

  • Kitchen scales
  • Measuring spoons
  • Medium size saucepan
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Wooden spoon
  • 2-3 baking trays

Ingredients
  

Pineapple Jam Filling

  • 1 x 440 gram (15.5 ounces) canned crushed pineapple in natural juice
  • 225 grams (7.93 ounces) granulated white sugar
  • 1 cm (0.4 inch) piece cinnamon stick
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice

Pastry

  • 250 grams (8.8 ounces) salted butter softened (but not melted). The consistency should be thick and soft like mayonnaise.
  • 50 grams (1.76 ounces) icing sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • ⅛ teaspoon vanilla
  • 8 grams milk powder whole or skim
  • 280 grams (9.87 ounces) plain flour
  • 70 grams (2.46 ounces) corn flour

Glaze

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions
 

Pineapple Jam Filling

  • Place the crushed pineapple into a sieve which is sitting over a large jug or bowl. Use the back of a spoon to press the pineapple into the sieve to squeeze out as much juice as possible.
    Keep the pulp and discard the juice or keep the juice to make something else.
  • Place the pineapple, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves and lemon juice into a medium sized saucepan, mixing well.
  • Cook over a medium/high heat until it becomes a thick paste. Use a wooden spoon to constantly stir the mixture, lowering the heat as it becomes thicker.
    As it cooks the liquid will evaporate and the colour will darken slightly (this can take anywhere between 15-20 minutes depending on the amount of moisture in the mixture and the cooking temperature). Remove from the heat.
    Use a spoon or fork to carefully remove and discard the cinnamon stick and cloves from the hot jam.
    Allow the jam to come to room temperature then put in the fridge to cool for at least 30 minutes.
  • Use your kitchen scales to weigh and evenly divide the pineapple jam into 40 even sized pieces. Use your fingertips to shape each piece into balls.
    Place the balls in a single layer onto a small tray lined with baking paper, cover and chill until needed. Chilling the filling is important because it becomes firm, making it easier to handle.
    Note: The filling can be prepared the 1 – 2 days before. Store covered in the fridge until needed.

Dough

  • Place the softened butter, egg yolks, icing sugar and vanilla essence into a mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to beat the mixture until it is well combined.
  • Add the milk powder, then gradually adding in the flour and cornflour and mix to form a dough, use a spatula to scrape the dough from the sides of the bowl and shape into a ball.
    This is a very soft dough and it is best to chill it for about 15-20 minutes before moving onto the next step.
  • Use your kitchen scales to weigh and evenly divide the dough into 40 even sized pieces, rolling each piece into a ball.

Making The Tarts

  • Take one dough ball and flatten it into a disc., next place a jam ball in the centre of the disc and bring up the sides of the dough to enclose the jam,. Gently press the opening together. Place the pineapple tart onto a baking tray lined with paper.
  • Repeat the process to make the rest of the tarts, leaving about 2 cm (0.78 inches) of space between each cookie when placed on the baking tray.
    Place in the fridge and chill for about 15 – 20 minutes.
    While the tarts are chilling pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F)

Glaze and Bake

  • Make the glaze
    In a small bowl beat the egg yolk and sugar until well combined.
  • You can leave the tarts plain or, you can decorate the tops of the tarts before glazing. Use a fork to press into the tops of each tart, then turn the fork 90 degrees and press again to make a hatch mark.
    Just before baking brush the tops of each tart with the glaze.
  • Bake for about 15 - 25 minutes or until they turn a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.

Notes

Store  the pineapple tarts at room temperature for up to 7 - 10 days in a sealed container. You can even keep them in the fridge for up to one month. If you do store in the fridge allow them to come to room temperature before eating.
For longer storage they can be frozen for up to three - four months either cooked or uncooked.
To freeze cooked and uncooked tarts:
Place the tarts on a tray in a single layer not touching each other, then place the tray in the freezer until the tarts are solid.
Transfer the frozen tarts to a freezer safe bag or container. If stacking on top of each other separate the layers with a piece of baking paper for better storage.
When needed take out as much as you want.
  • For the baked tarts allow them to come to room temperature before eating.
  • For the uncooked tarts, brush the tops with egg yolk if you haven’t already done this before freezing. Then bake from frozen adding about 5 minutes more to the baking time.
 
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This recipe makes about 680 grams of dough when divided into 40 each piece is about 17 grams.
This recipe makes about 360 grams pineapple jam when divided into 40 each piece is about 9 grams. But yours could be a little lighter or heavier in weight. This will be due to how long it was cooked and how much moisture was evaporated from the jam. Either way, still divide the jam into 40 even sized pieces.

Nutrition

Serving: 1x pineapple tartCalories: 117kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 47mgPotassium: 27mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 183IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 1mg
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