Recipe for Black Currant Tarts

Sugar cookie crust

(Based on a sugar cookie recipe from Joy of cooking)

Sift together:

2 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons double-acting backing powder

¾ teaspoon salt

Combine:

½ cup sugar

¾ cup softened butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix wet and dry ingredients

Press into tart tins (or make sugar cookies with a depression in the middle)

Bake for about 8 minutes at 375°

Allow to cool before adding fruit

Picking and preparing the black currants

We use berries from Ribes aureum gracillimum - Golden Currant.

Pick the bunch

When you pick the fruit try to get the whole bunch. If you try to pick individual berries it is really hard to get the flowers of the berries and the fruits get damaged.

Clip off the flowers

Use a pair of scissors to trim of the flowers. If you try to pull them off, half the fruit comes of with them.

Clip off the berries

Use the scissors to trim the berries from the stem.

Wash them in cold water.

We don't use warm water because it would cause fruit to burst.

Dry them

Dry them off so they won't make the cookies soggy.

Fill each cookie with about a Tablespoon of berries.

Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or as is.

You can learn more about edible California native plants at Incredible edibles.

You can learn more about currants and gooseberries at the currants and gooseberries page.