TWD: Not quite Dorie's Strawberry Tart

This week, the Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was La Palette's Strawberry Tart. From the photo, it looked delicious. It's finally strawberry season here in Michigan and I hightailed it to the Ann Arbor Farmers Market in search of ripe, local berries. (I'm still seeking a spray-free spot to pick mu own, but that's another story.) Two quarts and $7 later, I've got strawberry bliss sitting on the countertop.

Our weekend plans included a little reception and I needed a finger food to take along. Since my small family alone can't take the weekly butter component of the TWD exercise, I'm often looking for opportunities to share the wealth. As written, this recipe was in no way finger food, so I started changing. My original plans called for Dorie's tart crust, rolled gently and then adorned with the fresh berries. I had also been thinking about one of my favorite dessert recipes -- the grapefruit tart from Inn at Little Washington, which takes a nut crust and then brushes it with melted chocolate before adding the filling. I had wanted to brush the crusts with melted chocolate, before adding the jam -- but alas, the chocolate cupboard was bare. I plan to try this sometime, as chocolate and strawberries are such a wonderful combination.

I settled instead for Dorie's chocolate shortbread crust. I rolled the crust, cut it into circles with a small juice glass (turned out larger than I had expected), froze it, and baked the resulting cookies for 10 minutes. Just before we headed out the door, I heated my jam in the microwave to make it more spreadable, topped each cookie with a few halved berries and a dusting of powered sugar.

They were delicious, and distinctively not too sweet -- just right for mid-afternoon.