This Mini Tart Crust Recipe is made with a 5-ingredient shortbread cookie dough pressed into a mini muffin pan and baked until light golden brown. No chilling, no rolling. Perfect tart crust for fresh fruit, mousse, pie filling, or ice cream.
For mini pies and cheesecakes, try this Mini Graham Crakcer Pie Crust recipe!
These shortbread mini tart shells are a fun and easy way to make adorable, bite-sized treats for any occasion. They're tender and buttery and slightly crumbly, yet sturdy enough for your favorite tart filling. This easy no-chill tart dough doesn't require a rolling pin, cookie cutter, tart pan, or special tartlet molds -- just a mini muffin tin and maybe some parchment paper liners.
This buttery tart crust is the perfect base for mini chocolate tarts. These cute little tartlets are filled with luscious 3-ingredient chocolate mousse -- you have to try it!
🧈Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
- Unsalted butter. Let the butter come to room temperature. It should be soft enough to indent when pressed -- it shouldn't be squishy.
- All-purpose flour. Carefully measure flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling off the top with a knife, as too much flour can cause the cookies to be dry and hard.
- Salt. A pinch of salt adds flavor without adding saltiness. If you use salted butter, you can omit the salt.
🥣Instructions
Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour and salt and mix while scraping down the sides of the bowl, just until it comes together into a dough.
Step 2: Roll the dough into balls and place them into a mini muffin pan coated with nonstick spray or lined with mini muffin liners. Press each piece of dough into and up the sides of the cups.
Step 3: Bake in preheated oven at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the edges just start to turn very light brown. Press the puffed up centers back down with the handle of a wooden spoon, muddler, or pestle.
Step 4: Cool in pan 5 minutes until firm enough to handle. Gently lift the cups from the pan (see tips) and cool completely on a wire rack. Fill with your favorite no-bake filling like jam, pie filling, mousse, fruit, or little scoops of ice cream.
👉Top Tip: Use a nonstick mini muffin tin and grease it well. For the most effortless removal, line the cups with paper liners or strips of parchment paper (slings).
☑️Tips
- Let the cookie cups cool in the pan until firm enough to handle before removing. If needed, gently twist the cookies in the cups or use a toothpick to loosen the edges. I found it best to remove them when they were still slightly warm.
- For fillings that need to be baked in the shells, if the filling recipe doesn't specify, par-bake the crusts for 12-15 minutes before adding filling and baking again.
- For a mini tart recipe with baked fillings, I recommend using paper liners or parchment slings for the easiest removal from the pan.
🎁Storage
- Store baked unfilled mini tartlet shells in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Store filled shells according to the filling recipe.
- Refrigerate shortbread dough wrapped in plastic for up to 3 days.
- Freeze baked shells or shortbread dough wrapped in plastic wrap and a freezer bag for 3 months. Thaw the dough in the refrigerator.
Filling Ideas for Mini Tarts
This tart pastry recipe makes the perfect tartlet shells for your favorite fillings.
- Mini Fruit Tarts -- fill with pastry cream or vanilla pudding and your favorite fruit
- Lemon Curd Tartlet -- spoon lemon curd or lemon pie filling into baked shells
- Chocolate Mousse Mini Tarts -- pipe milk or dark chocolate mousse into shells and top with crushed cookies and shaved chocolate
- Chocolate Ganache Tarts -- whip chocolate ganache and spoon or pipe it into the shells
🎆More Great Recipe Ideas
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📖 Recipe
Mini Tart Crust Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300. Spray a nonstick mini muffin pan with cooking spray, or line the cups with mini muffin liners.
- Beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Mix in the vanilla extract. Add the flour and salt and mix just until it comes together into a soft dough.
- Roll 1 tablespoon portions into balls and place them in the cups of a mini muffin pan. Press the shortbread cookie dough into and up the sides of the cups with a spoon handle, muddler, pestle, or a rounded measuring spoon (spray with oil or dip in water to keep it from sticking to the dough).
- Bake for 20-25 minutes (23 is the perfect time in my oven) until the cookies just barely start to turn golden brown. They will have puffed up, press the centers back down while they are still warm. Cool in the pan 5 minutes until firm enough to handle. Gently lift the cups from the pan and place on wire rack to cool completely.
- When cooled, fill with pie filling, mousse, fruit, or ice cream.
Notes
- Use a nonstick mini muffin tin and grease it well. For the most effortless removal, line the cups with paper liners or strips of parchment paper (slings).
- Let the cookie cups cool in the pan until firm enough to handle before removing. If needed, gently twist the cookies in the cups or use a toothpick to loosen the edges. I found it best to remove them when they were still slightly warm.
- For fillings that need to be baked in the shells, if the filling recipe doesn't specify, reduce the baking time and par-bake the crusts for 12-15 minutes before adding filling.
- For a mini tart recipe with baked fillings, I recommend using paper liners or parchment slings for the easiest removal from the pan.
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