Tart

(TARTE AU CITRON)

(TARTE D'ABRICOTS AU MIEL ET AUX AMANDES) In early summer, apricots are abundant in Provence; here, we've called for canned apricots, which are always available.

Betty Caldwell was Gourmet's production director for many years. She has an avid interest in cooking and gave us this recipe, which became an instant holiday classic.

Nut pies can be very sweet — mixing in tart cranberries keeps everything in check.

The sweet, nutty filling might remind you of a pecan pie — with melted chocolate chips.

Pecan pie dresses up for the holiday. Chocoholics, take note: In addition to the bits of chocolate in the filling, there's cocoa powder in the delicious crust.

"I've always loved to cook, and though at eighty-nine I'm slowing down, I still love it," writes Mary Gareffa of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. "My grandfather and my father were both cooks in a monastery in Reggio Calabria, Italy, before they moved to this country, and luckily for me, my father was my cooking teacher. These are time-tested recipes for some everyday dishes that I grew up with and later served to my own family." Pasta frolla, Italian sweet pastry dough, is the tender press-in crust for this easy tart.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 3/4 hr See how to roll out dough.

Don't worry — you won't need a giant oven for this king-size tart. It's made in 4 quadrants, baked one at a time. And because the recipe uses packaged puff pastry, it's fairly simple to prepare.

Ground almonds add a delicate nutty flavor to the crust. Begin making the filling a day before assembling the tart; once completed, it can be chilled another day before serving.

White Chocolate Tartlets with Strawberries and Bananas These irresistible sweets feature a hazelnut crust that is lined with dark chocolate and filled with white chocolate mousse.

Tarte au Sucre du Pays Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Sophisticated and simple—even more so with the help of a purchased pie crust.

The tartness of the cranberries is accented by the sweet, crunch meringue filling served at Le Bec-Fin in Philadelphia.

Here's a luscious fall dessert.

Early French gardeners developed the espalier method of growing fruit trees-the trees are trained to grow flat against a wall or trellis-so they could take full advantage of the sun and use small plots of land efficiently. October finds markets full of newly harvested crisp apples that add wonderful flavor to this traditional French tart.

These pretty tartlets can be made one day ahead. Arrange them in a single layer in a shallow plastic container for transporting.