AFTERNOON TEA IN THE ORCHARD

With summer coming to a close as Autumn creeps in with a slight chill and crisp air, I love to be outside as long as I can in these days. You feel a change coming and see it in the garden and the apple that dot the trees in the orchard. Before heading back to Maui, I caught up to visit a special friend in her orchard for afternoon tea.

It was one of those bright blue and hazy days that a little shade under one of the apple trees felt like the perfect relief. Soon the apples will be harvested and pressed in to cider.

I made these classic jam tarts using local fruit preserves. They are an old fashioned recipe and keep well. The are prefect for an afternoon tea treat and look gorgeous on a plate too!

Old Fashioned Jam Tarts

Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter, room temperature

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon of almond extract

2 1/2 cups of flour

1/2 cup of slivered almonds

powdered sugar

jam or preserves for filling

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg yolk and almond extract. Slowly mix in the flour and slivered almonds. Cover and chill for 12 hours or stick in the freezer for an hour or so if you need it immediately.

• On a floured work surface, cut the dough into circles. Using 1/2” of the round cookie cutter, cut out the centers of 1/2 of the batch of cookies. They will be the top ring.

• Place the cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until the cookies get slightly golden.

• Once cooled, using a sifter sprinkle powdered sugar over the top rings.

• Spread a layer of jam or preserves over the plain cookies. Place a powdered sugar top ring on top of each jam covered tart.