These dessert tarts and tartlets are an easy and elegant summertime dessert you will be proud to serve.

 

Summertime desserts should be lighter, cool, quick to make, and require little or no baking time.  No one wants to heat up their kitchen in the summer. The first thing that comes to my mind are dessert tarts and tartlets.

These are so easy to make and the flavor combinations are endless.

Tarts are basically a baked dish consisting of a pastry base, a filling,
and a topping.  They are perfect to serve on a dessert bar, a tea
party, or at any gathering.

One of the reasons these dessert tarts look so elegant is because of the pans they are baked in.   They come in such a variety of sizes and shapes. They can be purchased at kitchen stores, on-line at cooking web sites and sometimes even at Wal-Mart or Target.

 

Just make sure to purchase or use one that has a removable bottom. The crust is almost impossible to get out in one piece if you do not use this kind of pan.

CRUST OPTIONS:
refrigerated cookie dough
graham cracker crust
crust made from scratch
ready made shells available in frozen food section

FILLINGS:
cream cheese
pudding
mascarpone cheese
Nutella
peanut butter
canned pie fillings
homemade pastry cream

TOPPINGS:
fresh fruits
small candies
nuts
toasted coconut

The following  dessert tarts are all made with refrigerated cookie dough as the crust.

 

Vanilla Mascarpone Cookie Tart 

 

Why Everyone Loves Dessert Tarts and Tartlets

• These are so quick and easy to make.
• In the summertime they are such a cool and refreshing dessert,
• They can be made with different fruits for a great variety of desserts,
• The tarts and tartlets look so impressive and pretty.

Frequently Asked Questions/Helpful Tips

What kind of pudding can I use as the filling?
You can use any flavor of pudding, such as vanilla, lemon, chocolate or coconut cream. They can be an instant pudding or a cook and serve pudding.

What are some other fillings I can use in the filling?
Some other delicious foods to add are Nutella, peanut butter, canned pie fillings, cream cheese and mascarpone cheese.

What toppings can be used on these tarts and tartlets?
Fresh fruits, small candies, nuts, toasted coconut, whipped cream, and Cool-Whip.

Can I make these ahead of time?
The crusts can be baked a day ahead of time and stored in an airtight container. Store at room temperature. You can clean and prep the fresh fruit a day ahead also. Some people even make the pudding ahead, but store each ingredient separately, but I do not make my pudding ahead.

The tarts are best assembled the day they will be served. Keep covered lightly with Cling Wrap and store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.

Some other tarts I have made are:
BERRY LEMON MASCARPONE COOKIE TART
PUMPKIN BUTTERSCOTCH MASCARPONE COOKIE TART
RASPBERRY MASCARPONE COCONUT CREAM COOKIE TART
STRAWBERRY MASCARPONE HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE TART

Ideas for tartlets

For these cute little tartlets, I used a package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough that was already cut into the cookie squares (24).  My tartlet pans measured 4 inch for the larger one, and 2 1/2 inch for the smaller ones.

The smaller pan used 1 cookie square and the larger one used 3 cookie squares.  Follow same step by  step directions as for the
Vanilla Mascarpone Tart with Fresh Fruit.  The tartlet pans baked for 16-18 minutes.

LEMON MASCARPONE BLUEBERRY TARTLETS..I mixed the mascarpone layer the same except that I added 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest in the lemon
tartlet mixture instead of the vanilla, and a box (3.4oz) of instant lemon pudding. Top with blueberries.

For the RASPBERRY MASCARPONE COCONUT CREAM TARTLETS I used the recipe for the mascarpone cream filling, a box of (3.4oz) instant coconut cream pudding, and topped with  raspberries.

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