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When I think of pastries, I usually think of this trio: Cheese roll, Beef Patty and Pine Tarts.  These were the pastries I was familiar with as a child, now I have to include puff pastry, choux pastry and the myriad of pastries.  But these three are very dear to me and will always be my favorites.   In the Culinary world pastry is a dough that is filled, stuffed, or topped with other ingredients.  In Guyana our pastry is not the dough itself, but the dish that’s made of pastry(if that makes any sense at all).   Pine Tarts are a perfectly balanced sweet pineapple filling thats tucked away in flaky shortcrust pastry (this is not the Asian cookies pineapple tarts, just to clear up any confusion you might be having at this very moment).  I’ve always loved these but was never satified with the store bought ones, so I decided to venture out and make my own.  It’s beyond comparison…freshly baked homemade Pine Tarts are worth going the extra mile!

Pineapple Filling:

1 20 oz can pineapple chunks or crushed pineapple

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

pinch salt

Egg Wash:

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp water

Pastry:

4 cups flour

1 cup shortening + 1/3 cup butter

1 cup ice cold water

Makes 12 pine tarts

To make pastry, mix butter and shortening into flour using either a spoon or fork until well combined.  Add ice cold water and combine until the flour forms a dough.  Chill for at least half an hour.

Blend Pineapple chunks in blender with 1/2 of juice from can. If you’re using crushed pineapple then there’s no need to blend it.  Mix blended pineapple, sugar, lemon juice and salt. On a medium fire, cook pineapple for 25 minutes until it has thickened.  Do not overcook!!  Remove from heat and cool completely before using.

Beat one egg yolk with 1 tbsp of water and set aside.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll pastry to about 1/8 of an inch thick and cut into 6 inch circles( I used a bowl). a11 Place a 1 1/2 tbsp of pineapple filling in the center of the pastry and spread, leaving 1/2 inch border.  Brush the border with the egg wash.  a2Fold one corner of the pastry over the filling like an envelope. a3 Fold other corner, slightly overlapping.  a4Now fold the last corner of the pastry, this should enclose the filling and form a triangle.  Pinch the edges close. Brush Pastry with egg wash.  pinetart21Bake in a oven preheated to 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.  Place on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before serving. Enjoy!

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