Tartlet Shells (Easy Mini Tart Shells) (2024)

These easy tartlet shells are mini tart shells that use only 5 ingredients and do not require any blind baking!

Aren’t these tartlet shells so cute?!

Tartlets are simply mini tarts. That’s it! They’re made almost exactly the same way as regular tarts but smaller and let’s be real, way cuter.

Plus they’re super portable and since they’re already individually made and in single serving portion sizes they’re great for parties or events such as weddings, showers, holidays, or birthday parties.

The method for making this tartlet dough is the same as it would be for a regular tart.

This type of dough is a pate sablee, which is a much heartier and studier dough than pate sucree.

Therefore, this dough is perfect for mini tarts and bonus, you do not need to blind bake the tart crust! Blind baking is filling the tart shells with pie weight to make sure the crust doesn’t bubble or puff up too much.

But, these tartlet shells are very sturdy so hurrah, one less step for these mini tarts!

Ingredients:

• Butter: This recipe calls for unsalted butter. You can substitute salted butter, just reduce the added salt to just a pinch.
• Sugar: This recipe calls for granulated sugar but some recipes use powdered or confectioners sugar. You use can that in the recipe if you wish.
• Flour: Use all purpose flour. I do not recommend substituting any other types of flour in its place.

Tartlet Pans

Also called tartlet molds, the most common tartlet pans are removable bottomed mini tart pans like this. For smaller tartlet pans pans, these fluted metal ones are also very common. You can even use muffin tins to bake your mini tarts!

For this recipe I recommend the regular metal tart molds as linked above and pictured in the post. Less common are tart rings or silicone molds.

But, keep in mind the number of tarts you get from the recipe will vary depending on the size, shape, and depth of of your mini tart molds.

I’ve found this recipe yields about 8-10 four inch mini tarts using this pan and this cookie cutter, and about 18-24 mini tarts using these types of molds which are about 2-3 inches in diameter.

MakING Tartlet Dough

Step 1: Cream butter, Sugar, and egg

Cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar. Once the butter and sugar have been mixed, scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula and then mix in the egg.

Step 2: Mix in Flour

Mix in the flour and mix until just combined. Do not overmix the tart dough!

Step 3: Chill Dough

On lightly floured surface, divide dough into 2 round balls ad shape each into a dish ½ inch thick and about 4-5 inches round. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight.

At this point the dough can also be frozen for up to a month.

Baking Tartlet Shells

Now for the fun part, rolling out and baking the tartlets. Before we get into it, here are a few tricks for perfect tartlet shells:

• Keep the dough cold and firm.
• Do not add extra flour to the dough. If/when it starts to get soft, place back in the fridge or freezer to firm up.
• In order to not have to blind bake these shells, it’s important not to stretch out the dough. That is what causes the shells to shrink as they bake (the same goes for regular sized tart and for pie crust).

I’ve found these 4 inch tart pans with this cookie cutter fit really well for making about 8-10 mini tarts.

Step 1: Preheat oven Roll out the dough

Preheat the oven to 325 ℉.

Then, remove the dough from the fridge and using a rolling pin on a piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mat, roll out the dough to ⅛ inch thick. It sounds thin, but in the mini tart pans it fits well while leaving room for the filling.

Step 2: Fill Tart Pans and Chill Tarts

Cut out circles 1/2 inch to 1 inch larger than your tart pan so that you don’t need to stretch the dough in order for it to fit into the pan. Again, stretching the dough will cause the tarts to shrink when baking. The bigger and deeper the mini tart pan the more room you’ll need around it.

Once you’ve cut the circles, gently push the tart dough into the pan. It helps if the tart dough is very cold. Place extra dough onto any sparse spots rather than trying to stretch the dough to make it fit.

Tip: I personally, like to cut out the circle, then chill them in the freezer for about 5-7 minutes. That makes removing them from the silicone mat or parchment paper and placing in the tart pans much easier. And, it prevents the dough from getting too soft. If the dough is soft, it is easy to stretch out the dough and have the tart misshaped. And while the tarts will still turn out and taste good, they won’t be as pretty as if you’ve kept the dough cold.

Once you’ve placed the dough into tart pans, chill in the fridge or freezer for about 10 minutes before baking. Similar to sugar cookies this helps keep the dough from shrinking or changing shape when baking.

Before baking, gently score the bottoms of the tarts with a fork about 3-6 times depending on the size of your tartlet pans.

Step 3: Bake Tarts

Place the mini tarts on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven at 325℉.

Baking times can vary depending on the size, depth, and even color or material of your mini tartlet pans. Here is a general guide but be sure to check the tartlets often to ensure they don’t over bake:

• 4 inch mini tarts: 14-18 minutes
• 2-3 inch mini tarts: 8-12 minutes
• 1-2 inch mini tarts: 6-10 minutes

The tartlet shells should be golden brown when done.

Step 4: Unmolding tarts

Once the shells are done, remove from oven and let them cool in the molds. When they’ve cooled, you can unmold them.

If you’re using a removable bottom mold, lift the bottom from the sides. Then, gently remove the bottom of the mold from the bottom of the tart. Sometimes it sticks a bit, so you can use a knife or small tool to gently loosen the bottom of the mold from the tart.

For smaller molds or tart pans that do not have a removal bottoms, gently tap them upside down and the tarts should fall out. Just make sure they’re completely cooled before you do this.

Typically there is enough butter and fat that these will fall out when you turn them over or tap them.

If they do not fall out or are slightly stuck in the molds, gently tap them at a 45-90 degree angle on a hard surface. They should quickly fall out. I’ve found this more effective than trying to remove them with a knife.

Filling Mini Tarts

Now the fun part, filling the tartlets. The possibilities for mini tarts are absolutely endless!

The most common is pastry cream and mini fruit tarts such as strawberry or apple. These are delicious and so easy!

But, you can also use diplomat cream, chocolate ganache, caramel, lemon curd, panna cotta, or use fruit fillings like jam, thick strawberry filling, or some type of thinner coulis (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, etc.). You can also brush the bottom with melted chocolate to keep the tarts from getting soggy.

To top off the fillings you can pipe whipped cream, marshmallow cream, or meringue.

Making Ahead and Storing

The tart dough can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to bake. The tartlet dough can also be made and frozen for up to a month. Make sure it is tightly wrapped and in an airtight container. When ready to use, defrost in the fridge and roll out and bake as normal.

The baked and unfilled shells can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen up to a month.

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