Tartlet Shells (Easy Mini Tart Shells)

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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Tartlet Shells

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

4.96 from 23 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, French

Prep Time: 1 hour hour

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Chilling the Dough: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 4 inch shells

Calories: 216kcal

Author: Sophia Assunta

Equipment

• Mixer
• Spatula
• Tartlet Pans or Muffin Tins
• Rolling Pin
• Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat

INGREDIENTS

• ▢ 8 tbsp unsalted butter see notes for using salted
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ⅛ tsp salt
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 250 g all-purpose flour 2 cups flour, spooned and leveled

Instructions

Making Tartlet Dough

• Using standing mixer with paddle attachment, or using a land held mixer with a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and salt and medium speed until combined.
• Mix in the egg, scraping down the bowl to ensure it is fully incorporated.
• Add the flour and mix on low until just incorporated, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Do not overmix.
• On lightly floured surface, divide dough into 2 balls and shape each into a dish ½ inch thick.
• Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Baking Tartlets

• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 ℉.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out to about ⅛ inch thick.
• Working quickly so the dough stays cold, cut out circles about ½-1 inch larger than the tart pans and gently place into the tart pans, being careful to not stretch out the dough as you want it to stay in place and not shrink back to it’s original size when baking. Re-roll remaining dough and repeat.
• If mini tarts need more dough, add more dough and press into place. If dough gets too soft, put it back in the fridge or freezer for 10-15 minutes.
• Once you’ve filled the tart shells, cut off an any excess using a knife. You can also roll the rolling pin across the top to remove any excess. Then, score the bottoms of the tarts by gently poking the bottom of the tart shells with a fork about 2-5 times, depending on the side of your shells.
• Before baking, chill or freeze the the tart shells for 15 minutes.
• Then, place the chilled tarts on a baking sheet and bake in the pre-heated oven for 14-18 minutes (for 4 inch tarts), turning pan half way in between. Baking times will vary depending on size of tart shells. See post for more info.
• When tarts are golden brown, remove from oven and let cool.
• Once cooled, remove from mold, add desired filling, and enjoy!

Notes

• If using salted butter, omit added salt in recipe.
• Keep the dough cold and firm when filling the tart pans.
• 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 to not 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). 
• Baking times will vary depending on size and depth of tart pan. See post for more details. 
• These tarts will last 3-5 days unfilled in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge.
• The tart dough or baked and unfilled tarts can be frozen up to a month. 
• This recipe makes about 8-10 four inch mini tarts. I’ve found these 4 inch tart pans with this cookie cutter fit really well.   

Nutrition

Serving: 14 inch tart | Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 37mg | Potassium: 36mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 304IU | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg

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