Pear and Cranberry Tartlets

Impressive fruit topped tartlets sparked by a sprinkling of pine nuts. Using frozen puff pastry makes the preparation a snap.

Ingredients

1/4 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1 tablespoon apricot preserves

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed but still cold

1 medium Bartlett pear

2 tablespoons dried cranberries, finely chopped

2 tablespoons pine nuts

Honey Tips

Honey Is One of the Oldest Foods

Honey is one of the oldest foods in existence. It was found in the tomb of King Tut and was still edible since honey never spoils.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400&deg. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small pot heat together honey, preserves and extract. Set aside.
Place puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Using a 2 1/2 – 3-inch round cookie cutter (or glass rim) dipped in flour, cut out 9 circles of puff pastry. Discard remaining pastry.<br.
Place circles on prepared baking sheet. Place sheet in refrigerator while preparing fruit.

Peel pear and cut into small chunks. Put into a small bowl with dried cranberries. Toss with half of the honey mixture. Spoon fruit into center of pastry circles leaving 1/4-inch edge free of filling. Bake approximately 15 minutes until pastry turns golden brown. Watch carefully the last few minutes of baking so the pastry does not burn.
Remove from oven. Drizzle each tartlet with some of the remaining warm honey mixture. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Let cool.
Yields: 9 tartlets