I would argue that these Finnish Christmas Stars are the most easily recognizable Finnish Christmas treat! You may have heard of them by another name: Finnish prune tarts, Finnish Christmas tarts, or joulutorttu. Their notoriety is well deserved. The pastry is rich, crisp and flaky, and it complements the prune jam filling so well. Plus the hint of sweetness from the powdered sugar- yum. Try these this year, and they will quickly become a family tradition!
I will mention that this pastry contains ricotta cheese, and I understand that this is not, strictly speaking, authentically Finnish. My suspicion is that it came to be used in this pastry dough as a substitute for quark, another dairy product which is frequently used in Finland but not readily available in the US. You can find oodles of different recipes for joulutorttu pastry dough: this ricotta cheese one is my favorite. It is truly spectacular.
This post also contains another shortcut method for Finnish Christmas Stars! If you want to try this approach, scroll down to “How To: Finnish Christmas Stars The Easy Way”.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’re suspicious of the prune jam, don’t knock it until you try it! Something about the combination of the sweet prunes and the rich, crisp pastry is just ridiculous. I’m already thinking about when I can make these again!
Traditionally, these are Christmas food, and they certainly have that festive air about them, but I’m all in favor of making them for any special occasion.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
Tools & Equipment for Finnish Christmas Stars
- Mixing bowls
- Handheld electric mixer
- Kitchen scale (optional)
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Small saucepan
- Spatula
- Fork
- Pastry brush
- Baking sheets
- Knife
- Small wire strainer (optional, for dusting powdered sugar)
Ingredients for Finnish Christmas Stars
For the pastry:
- 1 cup (246g) whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 225g) unsalted butter, at cool room temp
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup (60mL) ice water
- Powdered sugar, for dusting at the very end
For the prune jam:
- 1 cup prunes, pitted and chopped
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- squeeze of lemon juice
- water, enough to cover prunes
optional egg wash:
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp milk or cream
The Process: How To Make Finnish Christmas Stars
Make The Pastry Dough
In a large mixing bowl, use handheld electric beaters to beat the butter & ricotta together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add flour and salt and mix well. You will have a dry, crumbly dough.
Slowly drizzle on some of the water and beat again. Only add enough water to make a cohesive dough. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Form the dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge and chill for 3 hours to overnight.
Make The Prune Jam
While the dough is chilling, make the prune jam. Pit and roughly chop your prunes, if you haven’t already done so. Place the prunes in a small saucepan and cover them with water. Add sugar and lemon juice.
Bring the pan to a simmer over medium heat and continue to simmer until the mixture has reduced significantly and has a “jammy” texture. Stir occasionally with a spatula, and I also occasionally break up some larger prune chunks with a fork.
When the prune jam is thick and jammy, remove from the heat and set aside to cool until ready to use. If you don’t plan to use it soon, cover and place in the fridge. The jam can be used in the tarts straight from the fridge if you like.
Assemble The Tarts
When you’re ready to use the dough, remove it from the fridge. If it’s too cold to roll out immediately, let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before using.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Lightly flour a work surface and set the dough on it. Roll it out about 1/4 inch thick. 12 inches by 24 inches is a good size to aim for. Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the dough into 3 inch squares (if you have a 12 x 24 rectangle, cut it into 4 squares x 8 squares for 32 tarts total). Alternatively, you can divide the dough in half and only work with one half at a time!
Make four 3/4 inch cuts in each square. Each cut should be a diagonal, beginning at one corner of the square, toward the middle. Scoop 1/2 tsp of prune jam into the center of a tart. Choose one cut corner and fold it into the middle of the tart (over the jam). Fold every other corner in so that they meet in the middle, forming the star shape. See the video below for a demonstration!
Transfer the tart to a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tarts. If desired, beat together the egg and milk with a fork in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to spread the egg wash onto the tarts.
Bake & Eat The Tarts
Bake for 8-11 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack.
You may want to put parchment paper or something similar under your cooling rack before adding the powdered sugar! When the tarts are lightly cooled, dust with powdered sugar. I use a small wire strainer to lightly and evenly dust the tarts.
These are definitely best the day they are baked. If you will not eat them all, you may wish to freeze them, then thaw and re-dust with sugar when you’re ready to eat them. You can keep these sealed in a container or bag at room temp for a few days, but they will lose some of their crisp.
How To: Finnish Christmas Stars The Easy Way!
Want to enjoy Finnish Christmas Stars without quite as much hassle? I’ve got you.
You Will Need:
- Frozen puff pastry from the grocery store
- Prune jam or other jam- either make prune jam according to the instructions above, or replace it with your favorite alternative.
- 1 egg, for egg wash
- 1 Tbsp milk or cream, for egg wash
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
The Process: Finnish Christmas Stars The Easy Way
Make the prune jam according to the instructions above, unless you are using store-bought.
Let your puff pastry sit at room temperature for 45 minutes or so, until you can handle and unroll it without it breaking.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Spread the puff pastry out on your work surface. Divide each sheet into 9: along the folds, and then in 3 rows as well. Cut each square: make four cuts, diagonally in from each corner, toward the center of the square. Each cut should be 3/4 inch-1 inch long. Repeat until each square has 4 cuts.
When working with puff pastry, I find it easier to fold first and put the jam on top. Puff pastry has a tendency to open in the oven if you fold it around the jam.
Choose one corner to fold into the middle and press it in. Fold the rest of the star by folding every other cut corner in (see the video for a demonstration!)
When the star shape is folded, spoon 1/2 tsp jam into the center of the star. Repeat with the rest, and transfer each to the prepared baking sheets.
For the egg wash, beat the egg and milk together with a fork, and use a pastry brush to brush the mixture over the tarts.
Bake for 8-11 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack or parchment paper and dust powdered sugar over the tarts. Enjoy!
These have a chewier, puffier texture than the ricotta pastry ones, which are crisp and rich. These are also best fresh, but they keep ok at room temperature for a couple days.
Ricotta Pastry Tarts vs. Puff Pastry Tarts
So, why go to the hassle? Are the puff pastry ones just as good?
Pros of puff pastry: Easier and still tasty. And maybe they keep a bit better, because there’s not as much crisp to lose…but either way, they get chewier with time.
Pros of ricotta pastry dough: Crisp and incredibly flavorful and delicious. Plus in my opinion, possibly slightly cuter.
Finnish Christmas Stars (Joulutorttu)
Also known as Finnish prune tarts, Finnish Christmas tarts, or joulutorttu, these are a quintessential Finnish Christmas treat, & one that continues to be beloved by American Finns. These have a crisp richness to the pastry that goes perfectly with the lightly sweet prune jam- you'll love them.
Ingredients
- For the pastry:
- 1 cup (246g) whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 225g) unsalted butter, at cool room temp
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup (60mL) ice water
- For the prune jam:
- 1 cup prunes, pitted and chopped
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- squeeze of lemon juice
- water, enough to cover prunes
- optional egg wash:
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp milk or cream
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, use handheld electric beaters to beat the butter & ricotta together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Add flour and salt and mix well. Dough will be dry.
- Slowly drizzle on some of the water and beat again. Only add enough water to make a cohesive dough.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Form the dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap.
- Place in the fridge and chill for 3 hours to overnight.
- While the dough is chilling, make the prune jam.
- Place the prunes in a small saucepan and cover them with water. Add sugar and lemon juice.
- Bring the pan to a simmer over medium heat and continue to simmer until the mixture has reduced significantly and has a "jammy" texture. Stir occasionally with a spatula, and I also occasionally break up some larger prune chunks with a fork.
- When the prune jam is thick and jammy, remove from the heat and set aside to cool until ready to use. If you don't plan to use soon, cover and place in the fridge. The jam can be used in the tarts straight from the fridge if you like.
- When you're ready to use the dough, remove it from the fridge. If it's too cold to roll out immediately, let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before using.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Lightly flour a work surface and set the dough on it. Roll it out about 1/4 inch thick. 12 inches by 24 inches is a good size to aim for.
- Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the dough into 3 inch squares (if you have a 12 x 24 rectangle, cut it into 4 squares x 8 squares for 32 tarts total).
- Alternatively, you can divide the dough in half and only work with one half at a time!
- Make four 3/4 inch cuts in each square. Each cut should be a diagonal, beginning at one corner of the square, toward the middle.
- Scoop 1/2 tsp of prune jam into the center of a tart. Choose one cut corner and fold it into the middle of the tart (over the jam). Fold every other corner in so that they meet in the middle, forming the star shape. Transfer the tart to a prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining tarts.
- If desired, beat together the egg and milk with a fork in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to spread the egg wash onto the tarts.
- Bake for 8-11 minutes, until golden.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack.
- You may want to put parchment paper or something similar under your cooling rack before adding the powdered sugar!
- When the tarts are lightly cooled, dust with powdered sugar. I use a small wire strainer to lightly and evenly dust the tarts.
- These are definitely best the day they are baked. If you will not eat them all, you may wish to freeze them, then thaw and re-dust with sugar when you're ready to eat them.
- You can keep these sealed in a container or bag at room temp for a few days, but they will lose some of their crisp.
Pin For Later:
What Should I Make Next?
If you’re in the mood for another Finnish Christmas cookie, definitely check out Finnish Spoon Cookies here.
For a classic American Christmas cookie option, try Peanut Butter Blossoms!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it goes in the comments! If you share on Instagram, tag me at @sisuhomemaker.
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