Raspberry Cream Cheese Heart Tarts, Take Two

I was trying to figure out some yummy treats to serve for the girls with the sweet holiday coming up next week.  I remembered the most delicious, perfectly portioned tiny pies that we made and immediately wanted to re-share them with my friends and of course, myself my girls.  Some recipes simply bare repeating....

We found this recipe over at Weelicious and gave it a whirl.  They were yummy and easy to make and the girls loved helping.  We made a small batch and as a surprise, I'll be making another batch on Valentine's Day morning for my sweeties. 


Ingredients
1/2 Cup Raspberries
1/4 Cup Whipped Cream Cheese
1 Tbsp Honey, Sugar or Agave (we used Agave)
1 Double Pie Crust Recipe or 1 14 oz Pre-Made Pie Crust*
Water
1-1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
10 Raspberries for Icing or 2 Tbsp Juiced Raspberries
1 Tbsp Milk or Water


Using your standard dough recipe or store bought crust (we used this one), roll out so it's about 1/4 inch thick.  Stamp out dough with heart shaped cookie cutters.  We used two different sizes but will probably go with the smaller size next time, the perfect snack sized treat. 

In a bowl, mix the raspberries, cream cheese and honey in a bowl. Using the back of a fork, mash the raspberries with the cream cheese, leaving some pieces of raspberry intact.  Add your honey/sugar/agave...

I went a little overboard with this, next time, I will mash a little less but I love the fact that you can give this color without food coloring!

Place one heart on a lightly floured work surface and place 2 tsp of the cream cheese mixture in the very center, leaving a 1/4″ border around the cut-out.

Lightly dip your index finger into a cup of water and “brush” the border with the water, which will allow the two sides of the heart to adhere to one another.


Then, top with another heart and take the tines of a fork and gently press down along the edges to adhere (making sure the cream cheese mixture stays inside the heart pocket as best you can). With a fork or toothpick, poke some holes in the top of the heart to remove any air pockets.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees or until golden.


While the hearts are baking, take about 10 raspberries, place in a strainer and press down with the back of a spoon to release raspberry juice into a bowl giving you about 2 tbsp of juice.  Then, whisk in the milk and slowly pour in the powdered sugar to make PINK icing.  Take a spoon and drizzle over your tarts. 

Serve warm! Or to freeze,  place uncooked tarts on a cookie sheet for about an hour, transfer to a ziploc bag.  When you're ready to use them, place frozen tarts on a cookie sheet and then cook for 23-25 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  They'll last for up to 3 months. 

Enjoy!