Ordinarily I would not insist that you drop whatever you're doing and start baking now, but ordinarily I don't run across tarts as easy to make and as amazingly delicious as this one.  I discovered the recipe two weeks ago via The Splendid Table and began measuring out ingredients almost immediately.  Since then, I've made three tarts and six mini tarts.  It's that good.

The crust — a crumbly, buttery cookie-like crust — comes together in a flash.  Then you press all the crumbly little bits into a pan and bake it until it's just begun to hint at golden and the scent of pastry wafts delectably from your oven.  This creates a perfect platform for American Spoon's sweet and tart Sour Cherry Preserves, spread generously over the fragrant crust and heated through.

In the oven the preserves go warm and bubbly and the crust deepens to a toasty golden brown.  What emerges is pure perfection:  a tender, buttery crust flecked with bits of ground almond and accented with a subtle lemony zing, spread thickly with sweet, brightly tart Sour Cherry Preserves.

Seriously.  Make one now.  And then make another one for your valentine this weekend.

Sour Cherry Preserves Tart
adapted from  The Splendid Table
(serves 4-6)
printable recipe

You can make this tart even if you don't have a tart pan.  Click here for our improvised tart pan instructions.

zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup almonds
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
6 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 chunks
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 jar American Spoon ®  Sour Cherry Preserves

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Butter a 9″ round tart pan.

2) Place the lemon zest, almonds, and 1 tsp. of the sugar in the work bowl of a food processor and process until the nuts are finely ground.  Scrape down the sides and add the remaining ingredients.  Pulse until small clumps begin to form.

3) Turn the dough into the pan and pat into place with your hands.  Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

4) Bake the crust in the center of the oven for 12-15 minutes, until the edges turn golden and the center just begins to color.

5) Remove the pan from the oven and turn the heat up to 500 degrees.  Spread the  preserves over the tart shell, being careful not to crumble the crust.  Immediately return the pan to the oven (don't wait for it to reach 500 degrees) and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the  preserves are  bubbly.

6) Cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.  The tart will keep, tightly wrapped in plastic, for two days.