Trader Joe's Copy Cat Recipe: Cranberry Walnut Tart

Monday, December 03, 2012 | Labels: dessert, fruit

I'm always thrilled to see fresh cranberries hit the produce shelves just before Thanksgiving. I load up on way too many bags of the tart red berries and squirrel them away in the freezer to enjoy year round.

Several years ago I fell in love with Trader Joe's Cranberry Walnut Tart but I never gave much thought to trying to replicate it in my own kitchen until last year, quite by accident. I was tired and in a hurry to throw together a cranberry pecan pie for Thanksgiving last year when I realized that I didn't have any pecans on hand. I threw in some walnuts and also in my hurried stupor, I forgot to add the sugar. As the pie baked I convinced myself that it was ruined but as luck would have it, it turned out quite good. I realized that with a few more tweaks, it could be a close copy cat of my beloved Trader Joe's tart.

I'm all about things being easy with no fuss in the kitchen so most occasions I make this in a 9x13 baking dish and cut it into squares for serving. I wanted it to have a little fancier presentation for my first Thanksgiving with Boy Toy and his family this year so I prepared it in a 9" spring form pan. I lined the bottom of the pan with parchment paper before pressing the crust in and I also lined the sides of the pan prior to pouring in the cranberry filling. It turned out beautifully and I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I ate way more than my fair share!

Cranberry Walnut Tart with Shortbread Crust

Serves 8

Crust:

1 cup butter, softened

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

Tart:

2 cups chopped fresh cranberries

Zest of 2 medium oranges

1-1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3 eggs

1 cup dark corn syrup

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup butter, melted

For the crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir together flour and baking powder; blend into butter mixture. Pat into a 9x13 glass baking dish. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool slightly.

For the tart:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine cranberries with orange zest in a small bowl; mix well. Spoon onto top of prebaked crust. Arrange walnuts on top of cranberry mixture and press down slightly. Combine eggs, corn syrup, sugar and butter in a medium bowl; whisk until smooth. Pour evenly over the walnuts. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until set. Cool.