THE ORIGINAL ‘RECEIPT’

Cocoanut Tarts Bertha

1 cup B. Sugar

1 egg

1 cup cocoanut

Vanilla

Put teaspoon of raspberry jam in paste

Then cover with filling.

~Ida A. Shaver, handwritten receipt book. (Ida was born in 1871 and died in 1959)

Fun fact: “Cocoanut” is the archaic spelling of “coconut”. The word “cocoanut” was used in the 19th century, but in the early 1900’s the silent ‘a’ was dropped – possibly to avoid confusion with cocoa.

THE UPDATED RECIPE

• 1 egg
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. unsweetened desiccated coconut
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ c. raspberry jam
• pastry for 24 tarts.  (I used the ‘Rich Short Crust’ recipe)

Prepare the pastry, and roll it to about ⅛-inch in thickness;  cut the pastry into circles, using a 3-inch diameter biscuit cutter, and line 24 small tart tins with the pastry (or 12 if you are using regular-sized muffin tins).

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the egg, sugar, coconut and vanilla;  mix well to blend together thoroughly.

Put one teaspoon of raspberry jam in the bottom of each pastry shell.

Fill each tart shell up with the coconut mixture (the filling should be almost level with the top of the shell).

Bake the tarts immediately in a preheated oven, at 375F, for approximately 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops are puffed and golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Then, with a small knife, gently remove the tarts from the baking tins.

Yield: 2 dozen small tarts (or 1 dozen larger ones).

These delectable morsels will simply melt in your mouth.

A note from Patricia: I’m continuing to fill my face with raspberries, so this recipe seemed right up my alley to try next. I used the ‘Rich Short Crust‘ and made it gluten-free with 1:1 gluten-free flour, and used my muffin tins so that the tarts would be a bit larger. I didn’t have raspberry jam, so I whipped some up on the stovetop using frozen raspberries, lemon juice and sugar (thank you, internet). The raspberries and coconut and pastry were a glorious combination – these were sweet and tart and delicious.