6.24.16 Strawberry Oatmeal Cookie Tart
There’s lots to love about this time of year. Besides the obvious things like beautiful weather, ample opportunities for outdoor activities, cooking nearly everything on the grill, and being inundated with lots of amazing produce, I also love this time of year because the sheer abundance of certain fruits and veggies make it so easy for me to come up with delicious things to cook. Last week’s ample supply of lettuce meant we were in for some serious salad. This week, it’s strawberries.
Specifically, 10+ pounds of strawberries picked by Forrest, Leo, and I over the weekend (okay, Forrest and I picked them, and Leo sat around looking cute and smashing them into his face). A load of laundry and a bath to get all the sticky strawberry juice off this kid, he still somehow smells like strawberries. I love it.
So what does one do with so many berries? While it seems like a lot, the truth is, the entire lot went from sitting in a giant flat container on the counter, to either being eaten straight, cooked, or preserved in two days. I made strawberry rhubarb crumb bars, a big batch of jam, froze plenty of berries for a special treat come colder weather, and pureed some with basil to feed to the baby. What was left turned into this tart.
And by tart, I mean giant oatmeal cookie topped with mascarpone and fresh strawberries. But we’ll call it a tart, because we’re fancy like that. It’s simple to make (which of course I’m all about), and can we talk about just how absolutely lovely it is? It’s almost too pretty to eat. The key word here being almost.
Strawberry Oatmeal Cookie Tart
Makes 1 9-inch tart
I used sugar as a sweetener for the mascarpone topping, namely because babies Leo’s age aren’t supposed to eat honey, and after he longingly watched me making this dessert from his high chair perch, I figured he deserved a little taste. It was his 7 month birthday after all. But to those who aren’t sharing with babies, I’d definitely recommend using honey.
Cookie Base:
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup butter (1 stick) room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp vanilla
Topping and Assembly:
- ½ cup whipping cream
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature.
- ¼ cup sugar (or sub 3 Tbsp honey)
- 1 ½ cups sliced strawberries
- 1 Tbsp pistachios, roughly chopped (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9 inch tart pan.
2. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl.
3. In a larger bowl, mix the butter and both sugars together until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla, then stir in the flour mixture, mixing until well combined.
4. Press dough evenly into the bottom (no need to push dough up onto the sides here) of your greased tart pan. Make sure dough is approximately the same thickness all the way across.
5. Bake cookie at 375 until top is puffed, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
6. Once cookie has cooled, make the topping: use a mixer to whip the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add the mascarpone and sugar or honey and continue mixing until just combined.
7. Spread mascarpone topping evenly atop cooled cookie. Arrange sliced strawberries on top and sprinkle evenly with pistachios if desired.
