Gingerbread linzer tartlets

So I decided to grab the hot weather by the horns and make Christmas tartlets anyway, but with my dried fruit stash reduced to a sad handful I dropped the fruit mince tarts idea and went for something else: the beautiful gingerbread linzertorte I’d seen on Martha’s website, which was the perfect choice since I had a couple of jars of jam in my pantry. The good thing is: I made the recipe into tartlets, which looked adorable and were a hit with my husband, my sister and my one of my sisters-in-law. The bad thing is: the dough is ultra-mega-soft, kind of hard to work with, and it would have been better to make one large tart (less work). I’m stubborn and didn’t give up on my tartlet idea, but I’ll admit it that while shaping the dough I felt like banging my head against the wall, Heathcliff style. :)

Gingerbread linzer tartlets
slightly adapted from Martha

2 ¼ cups (315g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (88g) packed dark-brown sugar
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup unsulfured molasses
2 large egg yolks, plus 1 large egg white
1 ¼ cups raspberry jam – I used cherry jam

Sift flour, baking powder, spices, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add sugar; mix on medium-low speed until combined. Add butter; mix until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add molasses and egg yolks; mix until dough comes together, about 30 seconds.
Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Roll two-thirds of the dough into a 30cm (12in) round, 6mm (¼in) thick. Fit into a lightly buttered 25cm (10in) tart pan with a removable bottom. Prick bottom all over with a fork. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
Roll out remaining dough between pieces of floured parchment paper to a 30cm (12in) round, 6mm (¼in) thick. Transfer round with parchment to a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut out shapes from round with dot and snowflake-shape cookie cutters. (If desired, reserve snowflake cutouts - bake for 10 minutes at 180°C/350°F and sprinkle tops with confectioners' sugar.). Spread jam over bottom of shell. Lightly beat egg white; brush over rim of tart shell. Carefully slide dough round over shell; press edges to adhere. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F with rack in lowest position (I baked my tartlets at 180°C/350°F).
Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Serves 8 – I made the exact recipe above using 10cm (4in) tartlet pans and got 5 tartlets