Mini Fruit Tarts
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These delicious mini fruit tarts are bursting with flavor from a sweet cream cheese filling and tangy fresh fruit that’s all nestled in a cookie dough crust. They’re a simple but elegant dessert that’s perfect for any party or just for an easy to make sweet treat.
What is it about mini desserts that make them so much fun to eat? It’s almost as though their tiny size make them even taste better! Whenever I have a party or get-together, I’m always sure to have them on hand for an easy-grab sweet treat.
These Red Velvet Cheesecake Balls and Brownie Truffles are super fun and easy recipes to make and are always a crowd pleaser.
But I have to tell you, after making little miniature fruit tarts, I may have a new favorite bite size dessert. The flavors may remind you of Fruit Pizza or these Easter Egg Fruit Pizzas, but they are adorable mini muffin shaped desserts.
These mini tarts start with a sweet sugar cookie crust that’s filled with a delectable cream cheese filling. Then they’re all topped with a glistening variety of fresh berries or fruit of the season that make them a show stopping addition to any dessert tray.
What We Love about This Mini Fruit Tart Recipe
Easy tart recipe: Easy is an understatement when it comes to these cookie fruit tarts. They’ll look like you’ve spent a lot of time and trouble making them, but they require very little effort with all simple and basic ingredients.
Perfect dessert for any occasion: Decorated with a beautiful array of colorful fruit, not only do they taste amazing, but they’re also great for just about any special occasion. Whether it’s Sunday brunch on Mother’s Day or Easter dinner or just a backyard BBQ, these mini tarts are a great choice.
Great for kids: It is always a bonus when you have a recipe that the kids can help with. Bake up the cookie cups and fill them with the cream cheese frosting, then let each kid have fun creating their own tarts with their favorite fruits.
What’s Need to Make this Mini Fruit Tart Recipe?
- Sugar cookie dough – use store-bought dough or make your own
- Cream cheese- softened
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Fresh fruit – any small fruit will do like blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, kiwis, or mandarin oranges
- Mini muffin tin
How to Make Classic Fruit Tarts with Cookie Dough
For the Sugar Cookie Crust
Using a dough scoop or spoon, scoop out a tablespoon of tart dough at a time. Roll into a ball and place in a mini muffin pan.
Press a hole in the center of each ball of dough and press the dough into the edges of the muffin tin creating little tart shapes.
Baked the sugar cookie dough in a preheated oven according to package or recipe directions.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove from the muffin pan to cool completely.
For the Creamy Filling
Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla, a pinch of salt, and then add in powdered sugar gradually, mixing after each addition until it is all incorporated.
To Decorate
Chop berries and fruit into small pieces.
Once the sugar cookie cups are cooled completely fill them with the cream cheese mixture. You can use a piping bag or spoon the filling into the center of each cup.
Decorate with chopped fruit and berries.
Serve immediately or store leftover mini tarts in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two.
Because fresh fruits adorn the tops of these tarts, it’s recommended that you wait until up to a few hours before adding the fruit. The longer fruit sits the juicer it gets, and it could result in your tarts having soggy bottoms.
If making these ahead of time, the cookie cups can be baked and stored in an airtight container for a day or two in advance. You can also make up the cream filling the day before and store it in the fridge, covered tightly with plastic wrap an airtight bowl until you are ready to fill the cups.
If you are really needing a short cut, you can pre-slice all the fruit the night before and keep it in fridge until you’re ready to decorate the tarts.
Tips and Variations for Easy Mini Fruit Tarts
- To make extra sure your cookie cups won’t stick to muffin tin, use a little nonstick spray even if you’re using a nonstick pan. If you have a silicone mini muffin pan, that really makes removing them from the pan easy.
- If you want to give these easy tarts a fancy bakery touch, you can add a glaze to these fruit tartlets. Just take about 1/4 cup apricot jam and thin it out using a little lemon juice. Using a pastry brush, gently brush a little of the glaze on each one. It really makes the fruit shiny.
- You can make one large tart instead of mini ones. You’ll need one of those tart pans with a removeable bottom and will also need to line it with parchment paper. The baking time will also vary. Watch for the dough to turn a nice golden brown before removing from the oven.
- If the cookie dough tart shells puff up too much while baking, no worries. Allow them to cool for about 2-3 minutes then take the end of a wooden spoon and gently press into the center of the tart, making the opening large enough for the filling. The more filling the better, right?
- These easy desserts use sugar cookie dough as a base for the tart muffin cups. You can use pre-made packaged dough, the dry mix for cookie dough you find on the cake mix isle or if you have your own sugar cookie dough recipe, you can certainly you that as well.
One of the reasons berries work well is because, they are small so slicing them isn’t needed. But just like with strawberries, you can also use sliced fruit such as kiwi, apple and pears.
Mandarin oranges are also beautiful and taste great with all the other flavors, but because they are packed in water, be sure to rinse them well and gently pat them dry with paper towels to remove all the excess moisture.
You’ll want to avoid using super watery fruits like watermelon. The water content makes the tarts too soggy.
More Fruit Dessert Recipes
- Strawberry Pie
- Strawberry Lemon Lasagna
- Blueberry Dump Cake
- Hone Lime Rainbow Fruit Salad
- Ambrosia Salad
Mini Fruit Tarts
Equipment
- mini muffin tin
Ingredients
- Sugar Cookie Dough- Refrigerated mix or your favorite recipe
- 8 oz. cream cheese softened
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup assorted berries blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, kiwis, mandarin oranges
Instructions
- Prepare sugar cookie dough according to package or recipe directions.Sugar Cookie Dough- Refrigerated
- Using a dough scoop or spoon, scoop out a tablespoon of dough at a time. Roll into a ball and place in a mini muffin tin.
- Press a hole in the center of each ball of dough and press the dough into the edges of the muffin tin creating little tart shapes.
- Bake according to package or recipe directions.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Remove from the muffin pan to cool completely.
For the Filling:
- Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.8 oz. cream cheese
- Add vanilla, a pinch of salt, and then add in powdered sugar gradually, mixing after each addition until it is all incorporated.½ tsp vanilla extract, Pinch of salt, 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- Chop berries and fruit into small pieces.1 cup assorted berries
- Once the cookie cups are cooled completely fill them with the cream cheese mixture. You can use a piping bag or spoon the filling into the center of each cup.
- Decorate with chopped fruit and berries.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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