Italian Crostata Jelly Pie Tart

12:30 AM

This pastry takes on the elements of an Italian tart, made with a buttery crust that yields the right amount of flakiness and a jelly filling.  Simple and delicious, perfect for brunch.


A Simple Crostata 


A Crostata is one of those desserts that is known and made all throughout Italy, a rustic version of an open fruit tart.

This is a pastry that takes on the elements of an Italian tart made with a buttery pastry yielding the right amount of flakiness.  Simple and delicious, perfect for brunch.

The shortbread crust is unique in that it is made with flour, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, and baking powder.  It is filled with the traditional jam, but there are new ingredients that have swept across the United States, Nutella, ricotta, and pastry cream.  

Today, Italian Crostatas are on our brunch table for Christmas and other special occasions. Before my children married, I would make them a pastry, like a cookie.  

And then we began to enjoy them better when they were warm out of the oven.  That is when I started making them for our Christmas Brunch. They evolved into what we started calling them, a Pop-Tarts.

This is a pastry that takes on the elements of an Italian tart made with a buttery pastry yielding the right amount of flakiness.  Simple and delicious, perfect for brunch.

As it probably happens to other bloggers on Christmas morning, I never get any food pictures for my blog because we eat them up so fast.

I made these at 5:30 in the morning a few weeks ago for my daughter to take to her Mom's Group. As soon as the sun came up, I started taking pictures.

It was so hard not to eat some as soon as they came out of the oven. That is what is so good about this recipe….you can eat them any time for any occasion.

This is a pastry that takes on the elements of an Italian tart made with a buttery pastry yielding the right amount of flakiness.  Simple and delicious, perfect for brunch.

WHERE CAN I FIND THE RECIPE?  TAKE ME TO THE RECIPE FOR ITALIAN CROSTATA


Below, under the next heading, I provide a list of preferred ingredients, tips, and cooking instructions for Italian Crostata, along with similar recipe ideas you can try.

Alternatively, you can scroll down to the bottom, where you will find a full printable recipe card with ingredient amounts and complete instructions, including helpful notes.

This is a pastry that takes on the elements of an Italian tart made with a buttery pastry yielding the right amount of flakiness.  Simple and delicious, perfect for brunch.

TIPS AND TIDBITS FOR THE BEST ITALIAN CROSTATA

Keep ingredients cold.  Use cold butter and chill your dough for at least an hour before rolling it out.  If the butter gets too soft, pop the dough back in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes to firm up.

Don't overwork the dough.  Overmixing develops gluten, which can lead to a tough, less tender crust.  Handle the dough as little as possible.

Dust the surface.  Use plenty of flour on your work surface and rolling pin to prevent the dough from sticking, especially since crostata dough is often soft.

Use parchment paper.  Rolling the dough between two sheets of nonstick parchment makes handling and transferring the soft dough much easier.

Consider a food processor.  For a quick incorporation of butter, a food processor is ideal, but be careful not to overprocess.

Let it rest.  After assembling the crostata, chill it for 20 minutes before baking.  This helps the dough maintain its shape and makes it easier to slice.

Avoid excess liquid.  Use a stiff jelly or jam.  Avoid using fresh fruit, runny jelly, or jam to prevent the bottom crust from becoming too soggy.

Avoid overfilling.  Don't overfill the crostata, as this can cause it to lose its shape when serving and become liquid.

Cool before serving.  Let the crostata cool to lukewarm before cutting.  This allows the filling to set and prevents it from running out when you slice it.  This is very important.








       WHAT YOU NEED TO PREPARE AN ITALIAN CROSTATA


All purpose flour

Granulated sugar
Baking powder
Butter
Whole eggs
Egg yolks
Pure Vanilla
Blackberry jam
Apricot jam
Strawberry jam

A Crostata is one of those desserts that is known and made all throughout Italy, a rustic version of an open fruit tart.

HOW TO PREPARE AN ITALIAN CROSTATA


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and baking powder.

Cut in butter till mixture resembles pea-size crumbs.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla; add to dry ingredients and mix well.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface; pull the dough together in a ball without working it too much.

Reserve 1/3 of the dough and place it in the refrigerator.

Roll the remaining dough into a 15 x 10" rectangle on a lightly floured surface.

Lift the dough and place it in a 14.5" x 10 rectangle baking pan. (You can slightly roll the dough, place it in a baking dish, and pat it to fit the pan.)

Spread blackberry jam on a third of the dough, spread apricot jam on the next third of the dough, and spread strawberry jam on the last third.

Roll the remaining dough into a 12 x 10 rectangle. Cut 1/2" wide strips.

Carefully arrange strips into a lattice top diagonally over the jam dough.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. 

This is a pastry that takes on the elements of an Italian tart made with a buttery pastry yielding the right amount of flakiness.  Simple and delicious, perfect for brunch.

This recipe was published in February 2012.  Updated December 2022.

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Kay Little
Kay Little

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Comments

  1. Mmmm, I'm craving a little something sweet right now. Those tarts look great!
    -Lynn

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  2. Those are gorgeous! I love that you used 3 different jams. Love them :)
    mickey

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  3. I love that your guests can get a choice...or one of each!!! They look SO good. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. oh those look and sound way better than any pop tart out there.

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  5. Wow, I must try these! Thanks Kay.

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  6. so very pretty - love the look of these.

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  7. they look delicious...and so pretty!

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  8. Yumm....Yummm...can't wait to try!

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  9. These look fantastic, and so much better than most of the "pop tarts" you see out there, will definitely be making these. Yum!

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  10. Wonderful looking tart!
    Funny - i've just made linzer cookies yesterday :)

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  11. These are so pretty and they look yummy too! :)

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  12. These look so good. Sounds good for breadfast! Thanks for joining us on our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday." We hope you come back next Saturday. We would love to have you share more wonderful recipes! -The Sisters

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  13. I cannot wait to make this for the kids, they love pop tarts. Thank you so much for sharing at Mix it up Monday :)

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  14. They look delicious and I SOOO LOVE the assortment of colors/flavors....sooo inviting!

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  15. Mmmm that looks wonderful, I just love Linzer tarts! And I really like the idea of using three different kinds of jam, I always just use one, but this is a great idea!

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  16. Kay,

    I love all the different jams in these homemade pop tarts. Thanks for sharing on Saturday Dishes. I pinned them.
    Blessings,
    Diane Roark
    recipesforourdailybread.com

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  17. These looks so good. I have a friend looking for a pop tart recipe, I will send her your way. Thanks for sharing at Saturday Dishes.

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    Replies
    1. Kerry ~ thank you so much for stopping by….these are the perfect ones to make!

      Delete
  18. Kay, these are just lovely! And you made them at 5:30 a.m.- wow! :) I love how there are 3 different fillings in one pan. So pretty. These would be delicious for an Easter brunch! ♥

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