Jam tarts

I made some sweets Tuesday for Louise's spa party. Jam tarts, natch -- the easiest kind of pie/tart to make.
Didn't have any leftover piecrust to make 'em with. That's my mom's way of making jam tarts. When small child is helping her bake, she takes the scraps of pie dough that have been re-rolled once (and shouldn't be used again for real tarts as they will be tough and chewy, not flaky) and gives 'em to the child to flatten. Put a spoonful of jam in the middle. Get child to pinch dough around it, like a perogy or a chinese dumpling. Bake about eight to ten minutes in oven. Child will be overjoyed to eat her/his very own jam tart.
Easiest kind of tart to make, not a 'real' tart, no work for the filling. As mom says, it's not like I really baked, this is only a jam tart. Tough, chewy, messy if jam bubbles out.

Without bothering to make pie dough, I still wanted to make tarts for Louise, so turned to an alternative. Wonton wrappers! I had half a pack, thawed in the fridge. Here's the method -- too simple to call it a recipe.
Peel off individual wonton wrappers, and tuck them into muffin cups so the ends point up and the wrapper makes a little bowl. Bake in 350 F oven for five to eight minutes -- my landlady's oven has a few quirks, yours may too -- just bake until the points are starting to brown and the whole wrapper has crisped up. Remove from oven.
Tuck about 3/4 teaspoon of jam or jelly into each of these hot wrapper/bowl/tart shells. (Can use less, say 1/2 tsp if you want less of a very rich jam or want people to be able to eat it without a drippy gush of juice.) Return pan to oven for one to two minutes, just till jam has melted. Remove from oven, let cool slightly before eating as hot filling will burn your mouth.

The best thing about these jam tarts is that they're very basic and adaptable. You can put the filling in the raw shells before baking, if you want to be simpler, and the points will be crisper than the bottom of the tarts. If you've got a scrooch gun or a pastry bag or an icing syringe you can squeeze various kinds of filling in instead of just jam. How about adding a dab of softened cream cheese? Or a bit of lemon snow?

I've made these with bits of filo and they were terrific.
Of course, that batch started because I dropped my brand-new box of filo and broke those lovely rolled sheets into pieces about the size of a wonton wrapper. That day I learned to make these neat little rolls with a bit of barbecued salmon tip, a bit of feta cheese and a bit of avocado rolled in two layers of filo. And for dessert -- jam tarts. Two layers of filo that's been cut into squares about 1/6 the size of a sheet. Tuck the little pieces of filo into muffin cups. Don't bother to brush them with butter unless you really want to, they crisp up anyways. Tuck in 1/2 tsp of jam or jelly, bake for five to eight minutes, remove from oven and let cool.