Saturday, April 23, 2011

Make Your Own Mini Frozen Tart Shells

Why? Because they taste a million times better than the store bought ones. They cost pennies to make. You can whip them out at a moment's notice for an instant quiche or mini pie. And they are a cinch to make.

Start with basic pastry dough. (I've already showed you how to make it here!) After refrigerating, roll out thinly- 1/8" is nice if you can get it there. For mini quiche, I used a round fluted cookie cutter like one from this set and muffin tins. (Having many options is nice because you can choose the best size for the tartlet you'd like to make. Also, you could use the assorted sizes to make these adorable "tiered cake" cookies.)

Handling as little as possible, (to avoid tough dough) pop your dough circles into the bottom of the muffin tin. I did not spray my tins with Pam since they have so much butter in them and shrink when you bake them, but they will hold your tins hostage in the freezer if you don't. Lesson learned for next time.

Gently shape the dough to the bottom of the muffin tin.

Use the tines of a fork to gently puncture the bottom of your tarts to prevent air bubbles.

Now pop these babies in the freezer. When you are ready for them, fill with whatever tickles your fancy (I sometimes do a little dollop of jam for an instant mini dessert, but you could also do vegetables and a daub of butter and caramelized onions, some chopped nuts and chocolate, a smidge of eggs, chives and cheese for a little mini quiche or bake them first and then pipe in a bit of cream cheese. Be inventive!) Bake at 350 for around 20 minutes or until golden & bubbling. Enjoy! (And be sure to let me know what you make!)

1 comment:

April said...

Ooh! What a great idea! I'll have to send this on to my sister, who's planning my baby shower in June. I've requested a variety of tartlets and fruit themed goodies. Hmmm... now I think I'm going to dig through your archives for other inspirations...

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