Our authors come from all kinds of cooking backgrounds: some are chefs; some are magazine editors or writers; some are professional recipe testers; some author cookbooks. Jessica Battilana, author of our Corn edition, is a little bit of all of the above.

Her most recent project is a cookbook with Anya Fernald called Home Cooked, just released from Ten Speed Press. We asked Jessica to pick her favorite recipes from the book (she’s very intimate with all of them since she tested them herself in her home kitchen), and she shared these gorgeous jam tartlets, which are as easy to make as they are delicious.

Jam Tartlets

MAKES 12 TARTLETS OR 1 9-INCH TART

FOR THE CRUST:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/4 cups "00" flour, cake flour, or all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

FOR THE FILLING:

1 cup crème fraîche, Greek yogurt, or ricotta

1 egg

2 tablespoons sugar or mild honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

12 tablespoons apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Make the crust: In a medium bowl combine the melted butter, flour, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, and salt. Mix with a spoon until it all comes together into a crumbly dough.

Divide the dough evenly among the cups in the muffin tin and, using your fingers, loosely press the dough into the pan. Don't worry about making it perfect; it will meld together as it bakes (alternatively, if you are making one tart, press the dough into a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan). Transfer to the oven and bake until light golden brown, 10 minutes.

Make the filling: In a bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, egg, sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg. Pour the mixture into the parbaked crusts, dividing evenly among the cups. Top each with 1 tablespoon of the apricot jam (if using a muffin tin) or spread the jam evenly over the top (if making one large tart).

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the custard puffs and is golden brown and the jam is beginning to caramelize, about 45 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes, then use an offset spatula to transfer the tartlets to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Reprinted with permission from Home Cooked: Essential Recipes for a New Way to Cook by Anya Fernald with Jessica Battilana, copyright © 2016. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

Photography credit: Brown W. Cannon III © 2016