Crostata di Marmellata (Italian Jam Tart)

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Crostata di Marmellata is an Italian tart filled with jam. It is a fairly easy tart to make and doesn’t take long at all to put together. The crust is a basic shortbread and the only ingredient for the filling is jam. I used strawberry jam and decorated the tops with stars for Fourth of July, but you can use your favorite jam (homemade or store-bought) and decorate the top as desired. I have even seen a few Crostata di Marmellata topped with sliced almonds.

Not much filling is needed here. You only want to fill the crusts with a thin layer of jam, up to about 1/4 inch thick. More than that and the jam may boil over in the oven and make a mess (I may have overfilled one of my extras). I put put the tartlet pans on a baking sheet in the oven, so luckily the overfilled one only oozed onto the baking sheet.

Crostata di Marmellata (Italian Jam Tart)
Adapted from Manu’s Menu
1 crostata or 4 (4.75 inch) crostatina

1 1/2 cups plus 2 1/2 tablespoons (250 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon (125 grams) granulated sugar
pinch salt
8 1/2 tablespoons (125 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
3/4 cup jam

In the bowl of a large food processor fitted with a dough blade or a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Mix in the butter and egg until dough comes together and is smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 355 degrees F. Grease 1 tart or 4 (4.75 inch) tartlet pans.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the chilled dough until it is just under 1/2 inch thick. Flip the prepared tart pan(s) over and place on dough to use as a guide to cut out the circles of dough. Remove the dough and gently place in the prepared pan(s). Press around the surface to make sure it is flush with the pan. Bring the scraps of dough together and roll out until thin. Use miniature cookie cutters to create shapes or cut out strips to create a lattice over the crostata.

Bake the crostata in preheated oven until the crust is golden brown, 30-40 minutes.

Allow to cool before removing from pan.