BLACKBERRY BAKEWELL TARTS

Steps:

• For the crust: makes 24 biscuits.
• whisk together 1/2 cup oats, flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
• with a pastry cutter and your hands mix in the cubed butter until it resembles bread crumbs and has no big lumps of butter left.
• mix 1/2 tsp anise extract with 1/4 cup of the cold milk and add it to the mixture; then keep adding milk in tablespoons only until it forms a dough.
• divide the dough into two flat disks and refrigerate until firm.
• preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• roll out one half of the dough until it is the thickness of a button.
• with a 3-inch cookie cutter cut circles out and pierce each circle with a fork 2 or 3 times.
• bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
• repeat with the other half of the dough.
• grind the cooled biscuits until they resemble bread crumbs.
• add 3/4 cup oats to the ground biscuits.
• add 1/2 tsp anise extract to 6 tbsp melted butter and mix it into the oats and ground biscuits.
• add 4 tbsp of milk 1 tbsp at a time into the mixture and mix until you have a crumbly mixture that sticks together but is not too mushy.
• preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• fill each muffin cavity with the crumble mixture on the bottom and up the sides and pierce each cavity with a fork twice (note: you should have left-over crumble mixture after filling the tart cavities which you will use for the crumble topping later).
• bake for 5-6 minutes until lightly browned; then cool them in their tins.
• For the Jam:.
• bring 12 oz blackberries, 4 tbsp sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract together in a pan and boil steadily on medium heat.
• as the blackberries begin to cook down, mash them with a potato masher until you have no more big lumps of blackberry.
• when the jam reduces, thickens, and coats the back of a spoon take the pan off the heat to cool (note: the jam will thicken more as it cools).
• For the frangipane (almond cream):.
• cream the softened butter and powdered sugar until pale and fluffy.
• add 4 eggs 1 at a time and blend thoroughly.
• add 1/2 tsp almond extract.
• add 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup almond flour and blend thoroughly.
• Tart assembly:.
• fill each cooled tart crust with 1/2 tbsp jam; then fill with 2 tbsp frangipane.
• top each tart with about 1 and 1/2 tbsp left-over oat and biscuit crumble mixture.
• bake for 12-15 minutes until they are golden brown and the frangipane has puffed up and is cooked through.
• let the tarts cool in their tins for about 10 minutes before taking them out (note: use a spoon to take them out).