Embarrassed that I haven’t done anything for Chinese New Year, I decided on a whim to make pineapple tarts. Today, on New Year’s Eve. This buttery cookie is like shortbread and is filled with a pulpy pineapple jam. It’s a popular festive pastry, enjoyed by every racial group in Singapore–Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian–for all the major holidays.
We buy them by the tubs in Singapore and I’ve never had to make them but here in the U.S, of course pineapple tarts don’t exist. So I had to make my own.
Mary Anne Schooling, an old friend–since kindergarten all the way through to university till now–recently sent me a Eurasian cookbook which had many inviting recipes. Eurasian Table, by Theresa Noronha and Cheryl Noronha, had the recipe for Pineapple Tarts and since seeing that, I’d been wanting to eat them.
Pineapple tarts look distinct because they are made with special molds. I found mine online from browncookie.com for less than $10. But you can also use round cookie cutters and press the center down to hold the pineapple jam, like thumbprint cookies.
The recipe in Eurasian Table was easy and their photo was great so I used it. But instead of grating fresh pineapple, I used canned crushed pineapple. Here is Eurasian Table’s recipe with some tweaks. I also changed metric measures to standard units.
Pineapple Tarts
Makes 70-80 cookies
2 pounds self raising flour
1 pound butter, cut into pieces
4 eggs
2 egg white
4 tablespoons evaporated milk
Pineapple jam
2 cans crushed pineapple (20 ounces each)
1 piece cinnamon stick
1 star anise
6 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon sugar
I beaten egg plus 1 tablespoon water for eggwash
Making the pineapple jam
Drain canned pineapple, reserving ½ cup of juice. Place pineapple and juice in a saucepan, add cinnamon, star anise and sugar and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer for about 1 hour until juice evaporates and pineapple is pulpy but not too dry. Set aside to cool.
Making the pastry
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large mixing bowl, add flour, butter and cut to mix.
Add egg and milk and combine by hand and blend and knead until it forms a ball.
Cut ball in half and roll it to ¼ inch thickness.
Cut out cookies with mold, pressing the center down to make dip.
Place cookies on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Fill dip with half a teaspoon of pineapple jam. Brush cookie with eggwash. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool and serve.
