Total Time: 1 hr 30 min
Prep Time: 1 hr
Cook Time: 30 min
Servings: 12
Pasta Ciotti, or custard cups, are the best bit sized snacks ever. The kids love helping me fill the dough with the custard filling.
Ingredients
Dough-
- 2 cups gold medal flour
- ½ C&H pure cane granulated white sugar
- 1/8 tsp morton iodized salt
- ¾ tsp rumford baking powder
- ½ cup Crisco all vegetable shortening
- ¼ cup darigold milk
- ¾ tsp McCormick vanilla extract
- 1 jumbo Wilcox egg – well beaten
Filling-
- 3 tbsp argo corn starch
- 2/3 cup C&H pure can granulated white sugar
- 1 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp darigold milk
- 1 ½ tbsp Tillamook butter
- 1 large Wilcox egg yoke- slightly beaten
- 1 tsp McCormick almond extract
Directions
In large bowl sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is coarse. Add in milk, vanilla, and half the beaten egg. Use hands to mix the ingredients quickly, forming a smooth ball of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside. In medium saucepan, mix the cornstarch and sugar smoothing out any lumps. Place the saucepan over medium heat and gradually add 1 ½ cups milk and the butter. Cook mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until thickened. Remove the saucepan from heat add the egg yolk and almond flavoring. Set the custard aside. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface, roll 1 piece to 11 inch circle about ¼ inch think. Do not roll the dough thinner. Using a 3 inch fluted biscuit cutter cut out circles and press them into 3 inch tart shells, so the dough completely lines the shell. You should be able to fill 12 tart shells. Place tart shell on cookie sheet. Spoon about 2 tbsp or filling into each. Roll out second piece of dough like the first. Cut out 3 inch circles and place a circles and place a circle over each tart, pinching the edges closed. Add the remaining 2 tbsp milk to the reserved half beaten egg and mix well. With a pastry brush, paint the top of each tart. Refrigerate the tarts for 30 minutes. Preheat oven 425 degrees. Bake for 12-15 minutes until tops are brown. Remove and cool.
More about Pasta Ciotti
Custard is primarily made of milk, cream and egg yolk. This mixture is cooked and depending on how much egg or thickener is used will tell you the consistency of the custard. It can be thin (creme anglaise) or thick (creme patissiere), to anywhere in between. Custards used in desserts tend to have sugar and vanilla added. Flour, corn starch, or gelatin can also be added. Custard dates back to the Middle Ages and ultimately named from the Latin crustare.
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