Fast Fruit Tarts

Preparation Preheat the oven to 375°F. Melt the 2/3 cup butter in a saucepan over low heat. Set it aside. Grease a baking sheet with the remaining 1 teaspoon butter. On a floured surface, unroll the dough, cut it into six equal squares, and transfer the squares to the baking sheet. Cover each square with 1/2 cup of the berries or with enough pear or apple slices, attractively overlapping, to blanket all but the pastry edges. Using a basting brush or a spoon, paint the fruit with melted butter, and then sprinkle each square with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Pop them into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the fruit is tender. Serve with ice cream and a decorative drizzle of caramel sauce, and your guests will think you graduated from the Culinary Academy. Reprinted with permission from The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless, and Foolishly Simple Entertaining by Erika Lenkert. © May 2003 McGraw-Hill

Preparation Preheat the oven to 375°F. Melt the 2/3 cup butter in a saucepan over low heat. Set it aside. Grease a baking sheet with the remaining 1 teaspoon butter. On a floured surface, unroll the dough, cut it into six equal squares, and transfer the squares to the baking sheet. Cover each square with 1/2 cup of the berries or with enough pear or apple slices, attractively overlapping, to blanket all but the pastry edges. Using a basting brush or a spoon, paint the fruit with melted butter, and then sprinkle each square with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Pop them into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the fruit is tender. Serve with ice cream and a decorative drizzle of caramel sauce, and your guests will think you graduated from the Culinary Academy. Reprinted with permission from The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless, and Foolishly Simple Entertaining by Erika Lenkert. © May 2003 McGraw-Hill