• Preheat oven to 350F

Cranberry filling

• Rinse your cranberries and add to a saucepan along with the brown sugar.
  
• Bring up to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Cook for a few minutes to allow the cranberries to pop and release their juices. Sprinkle in the Instant Clearjel and continue to cook until thickened to a loose jam consistancy. Remove from heat and let cool. (The filling will continue to thicken as it cools.)
  

Shortbread dough

• Cream the soft butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla and salt. Note: it's important that your butter be at room temperature. I like to leave it out overnight when I know I'll be baking.
  
• Add the flour and continue beating, with your mixer on low, just until the mixture becomes crumbly and there are no dry patches of flour left.
  
• Take 2/3 of the dough and pat it into the bottom of your tart pan. I like to scatter the dough in crumbles across the bottom, and then start to pat it down. It helps to flour your fingers, or use the bottom of a metal measuring cup to tamp it down. Take the time to get the dough evenly distributed. Note: you're not looking to go up the sides of the pan with the dough, just to make an even flat layer.
  
• Spread the cranberry mixture evenly over the bottom crust.
  
• Take the remaining dough and break it apart with your fingers to make coarse crumbles. Crumble evenly over the cranberry filling. It's ok if some of the cranberries show through.
• Set the tart pan on a baking sheet, and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until the top is just starting to turn pale golden. I sometimes lay a sheet of foil loosely over the top for the second half of baking so it doesn't brown too much.
• Let the tart cool for 15 minutes on a rack before releasing the bottom from the sides. Finish cooling on the rack.
• Serve with cranberry whipped cream, recipe here.