Tangerine Shortbread Tart with Fresh Rosemary is an easy crumble tart infused with a hint of fresh rosemary ~ perfect for breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea!

a shortbread tart is always appropriate
This easy crumble tart is so lovely on the table for a luncheon, brunch, or club meeting, and if you’re on snack duty at work everybody will be thrilled for a break from doughnuts. A nice cup of tea or coffee is all that’s needed to turn a small slice into a reviving mid-morning or afternoon snack. Please don’t be afraid of the rosemary, the piney essence is just in the background, and you can absolutely leave it out if you like.
I’m snacking on a piece of this tart as I write, and I need to tell you, it gets high marks from me ~ it’s good!
the filling for your tangerine tart can be homemade, or readymade!
I love love love jam filled cookies, tarts, and crumbles. I love to use my homemade jams and curds as fillings, but I also love the convenience of using a store bought jam when it strikes my fancy. Today I spotted tangerine marmalade from my favorite StoneWall Kitchen brand, and I knew it had to be made into something delicious. The funny thing is, I never choose marmalade for my morning toast or muffins, but I love it baked up in recipes like this…go figure.
This particular marmalade is especially bright and flavorful, it’s not too sweet, and definitely has that citrus zing to it, so many marmalades are too sweet, imo. This tart is going on my short list of personal favorites, I could eat it all day!
tip: When you use jam as a filling for baked goods like tarts and cookies, look for one with a tart, bright flavor that will stand out and provide a nice contrast in your recipe.
be careful not to over cook shortbread
You can see the tart is still fairly light when it comes out of the oven, so don’t wait for it to brown or you’ll over cook. Shortbread will still look pale when fully cooked, and will have a soft melt in your mouth texture. Let it cool to firm up before you attempt to remove the outer ring of the shortbread pan.
After the tart has cooled a little bit, carefully release it from the pan. You might need to run a small knife down some of the edges where the jam flowed out.
how to store this shortbread crumble tart?
Your delicious tart will keep on the counter for several days, and it will freeze well if you need to save some for later.
more recipes using my famous shortbread crumble dough
- Blood Orange Crumble Bars ~ this is an example where I use my own blood orange jam for the filling.
- Zucchini Walnut Crumble Bars ~ another recipe where I play with the sweet savory combination.
- Meyer Lemon Macadamia Crumble Squares ~ use my homemade curd or store bought ~ these are like little rays of sunshine in bar form ๐
tvfgi recommends: aย 9″ tart pan with removable bottom
My tart pans get a workout in my kitchen. I use them for desserts but also for savory tarts and quiches. The removable bottom allows you cut and serve them nicely. I also have a cake lifter, which allows you to slide the tart off the bottom of the pan, too. I do that extra step because I don’t like the metal plate showing when I slice my tarts for serving.
Tart pans come in various sizes, but if you’re only going to have one, I suggest the 9 inch, it’s a good basic size.
Rosemary and Marmalade Shortbread Crumble Tart
Equipment
- 9 inch tart pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 -3 tsp very finely minced fresh rosemary, plus a little extra for garnishing the tart (do NOT use dried)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
filling
- 1 cup tangerine marmalade, I used Stonewall Kitchen
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F Get out a 9 inch tart pan (with removable bottom preferably)
- Cream the butter, sugar, and rosemary together until well combined and fluffy.
- Mix in the salt and vanilla. Add the flour gradually and mix until just combined. There should be no more dry flour left, and the mixture will be crumbly.
- Take approximately 1/2 to 2/3 of the dough and pat it into the bottom of the pan. I like to drop crumbles of the dough all over the bottom to distribute it before I start patting it down, this helps get the bottom covered evenly. Flour your fingertips if necessary.
- Spread the marmalade evenly over the dough. Then, using your fingertips, crumble the remaining dough over the marmalade. It’s ok if some of the marmalade shows through.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, until the top is just starting to get a hint of golden, don’t wait for it to get brown!
- Let the tart cool for about 15 minutes before removing it from the tart pan. Dust with a little bit of finely minced rosemary, and slice into 8 pieces.
I have some carrot cake jam I made & trying to think of unique ways to use for a church bake sale. In thinking about flavors in a carrot cake, which do you think would be best to substitute for the rosemary? This sounds to interesting & I’d like to give it a whirl.
I don’t think another herb would work, but if you’ve got spices in your jam, like cinnamon, you could add that to the shortbread dough. Otherwise I think the jam sounds distinctive enough to stand on its own! Oh, and maybe you could add pecans or walnut to the dough, which would tie in to the carrot cake.
This has become one of my go-to desserts. Itโs delicious and elegant and easy and everyone thinks I worked much harder than I did!
with stone fruit — especially peach/nectarine/apricot try adding almond extract!
With apple, try grating almond paste on top of crumble.