Tarts

the ones my grandmother made had an incredible
crunchy sugar glaze on the top (not shown)...

"This is the recipe as I got it about 40 years ago.  I changed it because it's skimpy if you use only 1/3 cup sugar.  I also beat the whites first fairly stiff and then added the yolks.  Other jams can be used but apricot-pineapple is the best."

~Anita Rawley Jones

This recipe represents my dad's favorite dessert in the entire world - Tarts.  I remember them fondly as a child, as they showed up at family celebrations frequently.  Now, you're gonna have to be a rather accomplished cook to be able to make this recipe work, since the sugar wasn't the only thing that was skimpy!  Obviously, back in the day, cooks didn't need everything spelled out quite as much as we modern cooks, eh?

Grandma's Famous Tarts

Make rounds of pastry and place in pans.  Put a dab of apricot jam in the center.  Then put a small teaspoon of the following mixture on top:  beat together 2 tbsp butter, 1/3 cup white sugar, 1 egg, dash salt, vanilla (Grandma's edit: 3 tbsp, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 large egg).

Bake at 375 - 400 degrees 15 - 20 minutes.

You can see what makes the 'crunchy sugar glaze' on the top.  These tarts were absolutely the best tarts I've ever had. Oh, and Grandma said she got the recipe 40 years ago, then my mother kept this recipe in her recipe box the majority of her married life.  Wonder where it actually came from...I'm guessin' my grandmother's mother who died of TB back in the mid 1920's.