Choco-Berry Tarts

We found this recipe in Family Fun over Thanksgiving and decided it sounded rather tasty! We're thinking that it would be good with other berries too. Our raspberries were huge so we cut them in half. Since it only uses some of a can of sweetened condensed milk, you could use the rest to make Escamochas! So buy some extra fruit!

Choco-Berry Tartlets

Crust:

1/2 C butter, softened

3/4 C sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 2/3 C flour

1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Filing:

3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 C sweetened condensed milk

1/2 C seedless red raspberry jam

36 fresh raspberries

Powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350°.  LIghtly grease 36 mini muffin cups. 

Crust:

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended, about 1 minute.  Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and beat on medium-low speed until just blended, 1-2 minutes.

Transfer dough to a clean work surface and divide it into 36 equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a 1-inch ball and press it evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared muffin cups.

Filling:

In a medium saucepan over low heat, stir together the chocolate chips and condensed milk until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes.  Remove it from the heat and stir in the jam until well blended, about 2 minutes.  Place a raspberry in each cup, then cover it with about 2 teaspoons of the chocolate mixture.

Bake the tartlets until the crust is set, about 15 minutes.  Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes then transfer each tartlet to a rack to cool completely.  Once cool, sprinkle tartlets with powdered sugar.

For maximum freshness, store in the refrigerator.