Tarts are delicious, but they’re also a whole big experience to make. You need to make a crust dough, blind bake it so it’s firm, fill it, bake it again, and on and on. Not only that, but you have to have tart molds to do it! I have a lot of assorted kitchen gadgets, but I’m running out of room for them all, and tart molds haven’t yet made the cut.
Of course, if you want to make actual tart shells, be my guest. My recipe for miniature shortbread tarts should be right up your alley.
Today, though, I wanted something easier. So, why not use puff pastry?
These puff pastry peach tartlets aren’t really traditional tarts, but they ARE delicious. They’re the first big dip into peach recipes for this summer, and they turned out spectacular. The crispness of puff pastry, the sweetness of peach, the overarching flavor of almonds on top, and that dash of icing? Divine.
I don’t have a lot of tips for making this recipe, because it’s super simple. There’s only one thing worth discussing, which is the peaches themselves.
A peach is a peach is a peach, right? Well, not really. There are actually over 300 varieties of peach grown in the US alone! But, broadly, they can be grouped into two categories.
- Clingstone peaches. These are peaches where the pit in the middle is firmly stuck into the flesh. If you’ve ever eaten a peach and can’t seem to get all of the peach flesh off of the pit, it’s a clingstone. These tend to be sweeter and softer.
- Freestone peaches. These are peaches where the pit in the middle is barely attached to the flesh at all. When you cut it in half, the pit is really easy to remove. They’re usually larger, firmer, and a little less juicy than clingstones.
There are also white versus yellow peaches, but that’s not as relevant to my recipe.
I say, use freestone peaches when you can. But, if you can’t find them, or don’t know what kind you have locally, clingstones work too, they’re just a little harder to prepare, but not by much.
Peach Tartlets with Puff Pastry
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Paring Knife
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Sheet Puff Pastry Thawed to room temperature and unfolded.
- 2 Peaches
- 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 Tbsp White Sugar Or just 2 tbsp brown sugar if you prefer.
- 1 Tbsp Flour
- ½ Tsp Cinnamon
- ¾ Tsp Vanilla Extract Divided into ½ tsp and ¼ tsp.
- ⅓ Cup Sliced Almonds
- 1 Egg Beaten well.
- ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400℉. Wash and slice your peaches into ¼" thick slices.
- Cut the puff pastry into nine equal squares and places them, slightly separated, on a baking sheet. Note: If the pastry squares are too small for the peach slices, you can slightly roll them out to be bigger, or dice the peach instead.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the sugars, flour, cinnamon, and ¼ tsp vanilla until it's all well mixed. Stir in the peaches to coat them as well as possible.
- Line 3-4 peach slices in the center of the pastry squares. Brush the edges with beaten egg. Sprinkle your almonds over the top.
- Bake for 18 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden. About halfway in, rotate the baking sheet for more even baking.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for around 15 minutes.
- During this time, make your icing by combining the powdered sugar, milk, and remaining vanilla extract. Drizzle this over the slightly-warm pastries and enjoy!