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Jumbleberry Mini Tarts

Handy no-fork treats win raves from kids for their lip-smacking taste; busy parents and other home cooks appreciate how easy they are to bake by the dozen. Once the dough is cut into rounds and pressed into mini-muffin cups, it is filled with a toss-together berry filling that becomes wonderfully jamlike during baking. Top each with a tiny dollop of whipped cream.

Mini Jam Tarts

Let your imagination be your guide when forming these little tarts; giving each one a singular look enhances its appeal and creates an enticing display, but you can always replicate favorite patterns. Use aspic cutters (available at baking supply stores) or small cookie cutters to make designs, or cut strips of dough to form mini lattice tops. You may also want to vary the flavor—and color—of jam in the fillings.

Coconut Macaroon Tartlets

As delicious—and easy to make—as drop cookies, coconut macaroons make airy shells when pressed and baked in tartlet molds. They will keep for days, and are very versatile. These are filled with vanilla whipped cream and candied ginger, but fresh fruit, citrus curd, and chocolate ganache are other nice options.

Wild-Blueberry and Almond Tartlets

Martha originally created this recipe for a boating picnic in Maine. The tartlets are filled with blueberries, both fresh and preserved. Almond flavors the sturdy crust and the cakelike batter for the filling. Use wild blueberries if you can find them; otherwise, cultivated berries will do—the smaller, the better.

Lemon Tartlets with Meringue Caps

Ethereal, light-as-air sweets start with thin tuile cookies that are draped over inverted small brioche molds while still warm. Once cooled, each ruffled cup is filled with velvety curd and topped with a playful baked-meringue peaked cap. You will need a nonstick baking mat for the cups.

Apricot Hand Pies

Apricot halves are poached with lemon peel, cracked cardamom pods, sliced fresh ginger, and vanilla-bean seeds to make a luscious filling for little crosshatched hand pies. Plums or peaches can be used in place of apricots; you may need to cut out larger pastry rounds depending on the size of the fruit. Be sure to keep the fruit submerged in poaching liquid or it will turn brown. This recipe is a specialty of Joey Gallagher, whose daughter, photographer Dana Gallagher, is a frequent contributor to Martha Stewart Living.

Poppy-Seed Tartlets with Lemon Curd

Each of these tiny tea-party treats features a pastry shell flecked with poppy seeds, rich lemon curd, a candied lemon slice, and a whipped-cream rosette sprinkled with more poppy seeds. Admittedly, making a bunch of them takes more time than a larger dessert, but most of the components can be prepared ahead (the shells and candied lemon will keep nearly a week). Then it’s only a matter of filling and topping the tarts just before serving, using a pastry bag and a star-shaped tip to quickly pipe the cream.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pielets

An all-time favorite fruit pie—strawberry-rhubarb—is utterly charming in miniature. These pielets would be welcome at a family reunion, graduation party, or other summer occasion. Baking the lattice-topped pies in mini muffin tins makes large batches easy to manage. If you’d like to serve the pielets à la mode, use a melon baller to form tiny scoops of ice cream.

Port Caramel Chocolate Tartlets

Chocolate and caramel are enhanced with port wine, Spanish Marcona almonds, and fleur de sel, a delicate sea salt, for ultra-rich miniature tarts that are wonderfully unctuous, like fine truffles. The large yield of this recipe makes it perfect for parties; just don’t expect to have any left over. These tartlets have a tendency to disappear rather quickly.

Cranberry Meringue Mini Pies

Here, a dozen petite pies are baked in pâte sucrée–lined muffin cups. A small amount of blood-orange juice sweetens the tart cranberries, but not overly so. You can assemble and bake the pies a day ahead, but for the best presentation, wait to top each with meringue until just before serving. If you can’t find blood oranges, use a regular variety.

Banana and Coconut Cashew-Cream Tart

This gluten-free, dairy-free, no-cook tart relies on dates and pecans for a sturdy crust, maple syrup for sweetness, and bananas and coconut for tropical flavors. The cashew “cream” is made by grinding cashews with water and vanilla-bean seeds. Soaking the nuts overnight in water ensures a puddinglike texture once they are ground. All in all, it makes an enticing dessert, even for those without food allergies or sensitivities.

Rhubarb Tart with Lemon-Yogurt Mousse

This vibrant tart heralds the arrival of spring. First-of-the-season rhubarb stalks are poached in spiced brandy, then spooned over a silken citrus-and-yogurt mousse. The cornmeal crust is baked in a springform pan for extra height. You can bake the crust one day, fill with mousse the next, then chill overnight before topping and serving. The rhubarb can also be poached a day ahead and chilled separately.

Nectarine and Raspberry Tart

Thanks to its length and the abundance of glistening fruit, this tart makes a striking finale. The tender cornmeal crust is more crumbly than other types, so do not overmix the dough, and be sure to chill well before rolling. It is also a forgiving dough—you can pinch together any holes or tears when fitting it into the tin.

Hazelnut Frangipane Tart with Apricots

Blanched and peeled apricots are arranged just so on a bed of softly whipped crème fraîche—seven halves in a circle, another half cut into thirds and set in the center.

Chocolate Pear Tart

Chocolate marries well with many different types of fruit, but pears and chocolate make an extra-special pair. Here, a ring of sliced fruit sits atop a deep, dark chocolate filling, which puffs up as it bakes. Arrange the slices so the curved edges all face the same way, with the narrow ends pointing toward the tart’s center.

Rainbow Puff-Pastry Tarts

A French patisserie classic is made modern. The tarts pictured incorporate sliced kiwi fruit, peaches, and strawberries, along with assorted whole berries, but feel free to improvise with your favorite fresh or poached fruit, and to arrange it in whatever pattern pleases you. That’s half the fun of a recipe such as this—the shell serves as a blank canvas for your creativity.

Fresh-Orange and Yogurt Tart

A citrusy dessert can feel like a burst of sunshine on a wintry day. For this easy tart, a ground-almond crust is quickly pulsed in a food processor, then pressed in the pan and baked until golden brown. The no-bake filling, essentially yogurt thickened with gelatin, takes mere minutes to assemble before it is poured into the shell, chilled, and topped with thinly sliced oranges.

Strawberry and Fresh Fig Tart

Fresh figs and strawberries are favorite summer fruits that make a delicious pairing. Here, they are arranged in a pâte brisée shell, then surrounded by a hazelnut batter, which turns golden brown as it bakes. The batter is similar to frangipane, a classic filling for French pastries, notably pithiviers, and all manner of tarts; it is traditionally made from almonds, but other nuts are also common. Armagnac is a fine French brandy; Cognac or another top-quality brandy can be substituted.

Poached Pear and Almond Tart

Pear and almond tart is one of the best known—and most revered—desserts of classic French pastry; it’s also one of Martha’s favorites. Almonds are sprinkled over the top and flavor both the press-in crust and the frangipane filling. Halved pears, poached in white wine and vanilla, are nestled in neat rows, leaving just enough room in between for the filling to rise during baking and turn a splendid shade of golden brown.

Almond Macaroon Galette with Strawberries

This stunning dessert may be a showstopper, but its crust is remarkably simple; it’s an easy-to-make oversize almond macaroon. The strawberries are macerated in sugar and liqueur before arranging on the tart; if allowed to rest for a couple of hours, the airy base will begin to soak up some of the deliciously boozy syrup. Since it’s flourless, the galette is an excellent choice for Passover.
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