Are you busy but love to entertain? Do you have last minute guests popping in? Do you just like to make everything ahead of time? Do you just love easy desserts? (Do you like to ask questions?) I am so excited to share this dessert if any of those apply to you.

Winter Fruit Tarts

This dessert is all about making a Winter Fruit Compote, a super quick and easy recipe, using cranberries and dried fruit. You can then keep this deliciously sweet and tart compote in your fridge for up to a month. Any time you need a quick and easy dessert, you just pop as many or as little puff pastry shells in the oven as you want, and you’ve got an impressive and festive looking dessert. I think I’ll be using this one all through winter!

Winter Fruit Tart 7

This winter fruit compote, inspired by Dorie Greenspan’s Giant Cranberry Turnover in Sweet Times, is perfect for the puff pastry tart, but you can use it to top pancakes, pound cake, oatmeal, or even pork chops. Fill a crepe, plop onto vanilla ice cream, or just eat spoonfuls of it. *blush*

Winter Fruit Compote
~about 5 cups

  • 1 (12oz) bag fresh cranberries
  • 2 firm pears (Anjou), peeled, cored, and diced
  • 1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
  • 1 cup black raisins
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Instructions –

1. Place all of the ingredients except for the Grand Marnier in a large pan (12″ diameter, at least 3″ deep) on medium high heat and bring to a boil. Stir constantly as it thickens, until the tracks left by the spoon don’t fill immediately. Cook another 2 or 3 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and stir in Grand Marnier. Spoon into a large bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface. Cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month. Can be used cold, room temperature, or warmed.

Winter Fruit Compote 4

Winter Fruit Tarts

To make them into Winter Fruit Tarts, prepare puff pastry shells as directed on the box (egg wash and bake at 400 degrees until golden, 20-25 minutes). Allow them to cool for 5 minutes.

Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells Puff pastry shell baked

Use a sharp pairing knife to cut along the circle. Remove the top and a little bit of the inside (and feed to husband).

pull inside out

Fill with winter fruit compote. (The winter fruit compote can be cold, room temperature, or warm for different effects.)

Winter Fruit Tart

posted by jessica at 06:28 PM Filed under Desserts, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.