Get ready to be introduced to the sweetest, cutest, fastest Valentines dessert in the land. Easy, cherry tarts with a Valentine's Day twist.
A trip to the grocery store usually goes something like this for me ...
Grab the only cart in the store that has a wonky wheel which forces it to pull to the right all the time. Get whatever "in the aisle" goods I need. Turn right. Head down to the dairy aisle and pick up whatever I need there.
I sometimes spend more time gazing at cheese than you would expect from a person who knows how to work a button up shirt.
Take a detour through the potato chip aisle and just sit and meditate for a while. Wipe the goofy potato chip induced grin from my face and head on over to the produce aisle. As you may have guessed, I am forced to hang a right to do this. Pick up leafy, crispy things. I like leafy, crispy things.
Turn right at the broccoli and head directly towards the deli counter. Worry for a full 30 seconds about whether or not, when there is only 1 person ahead of me, I really need to "take a number".
Decide the deli is too stressful and head over to the meat counter. Stand for what seems like hours deciding on what big, thick, hunk of meat I'd like to devour (usually after cooking it). I get all dreamy in the meat aisle. I browse and I scan and I ponder while in the meat aisle. Turn right.
Then I quickly zip through that area where they sell pies and cakes and stuff without looking at a thing. Check out.
The point of this story? Check the alignment of your cart before committing to it. There's nothing worse than a cart with a wonky wheel that always wants to turn right. Except one that wants to turn left. Second point to this story? I'm not one for sweet, gooey baked goods.
And because I don't like to eat 'em, I don't like to make 'em. Which is why I came up with this post. Quite possibly the easiest Heart Shaped Tart on the planet! Here we go .... !!!
Easy Cherry Tarts
It occurred to me that I could probably smash those mini premade tart shells into any shape I wanted. I mean, nothing terribly complex. Like I probably couldn't squish them into the shape of a small country or a mathematical equation but I thought I could definitely squish it into the shape of a heart.
I gave it a shot, and turns out I was right. Very easy. Just get a tart ... I used the mini kind normally reserved for appetizers.
Update: Apparently these mini shells are hard to find in The United States, whereas in Canada they're in most frozen food sections. If you can't find the mini tart shells, just use regular small tart shells. If you can't find small tart shells use a full frozen pie crust and cut it into 2 ¾" circles and fit them into a mini muffin pan before filling. You won't be able to achieve perfect hearts this way, but they'll still be cute.
How do you make a heart shaped tart?
1. Turn the shell into a heart shape, by denting in one end of the tart's foil.
2. Then push that dent inwards to create the top of the heart shape.
Be careful not to squarsh the dough too much.
3. Once you have the top of the heart shaped, push the sides together a bit and pull the end down into a point. This will finish off the shape of the heart for your cherry tart.
Ta da! Heart shaped tart shell. Everybody needs to calm down now, because the most exciting part is coming up.
4. To fill the tarts, add 1 tablespoon of Cherry Pie Filling. I mean if you want to go nuts you could make Cherry Pie Filling from scratch but ... c'mon. The point of this cherry tart Valentine dessert is that it's easy and fast.
Try to add just a little to each tart at a time. I added a few cherries to each tart and then filled up the rest of the space with the gooey filling.
Don't overfill the tarts 'cause they'll get messy once they bubble up and cook.
Now you can either stick your tarts in the oven or ...
You can tart up your tarts.
5. Now that you're tarts have the look of something that took much longer than 20 minutes, stick them in the oven at 375° for 20 minutes.
Take 'em out ... and eat 'em.
And there you have it. You'd normally have to cruise a bar at closing time to come across a tart this easy. Enjoy.
Cherry Tarts
Ingredients
- 1 package mini frozen tart shells regular sized tart shells are fine too
- 1 can cherry pie filling cherry is great for Valentine's Day because it's red, but feel free to use any pie filling.
Instructions
- Holding the tart, press gently inwards to form the top of your heart.
- Pinch the tart directly below the indentation on the top to form your heart.
- Fill each tart with a few cherries then top up with the pie filling glaze. Around 1 Tablespoon in total.
- (Optional) Roll out some more tarts to act as tops for the tarts. Be as creative as possible! Basket weave, inlays, cutouts ... anything you do to the top of a regular pie, you can do on these mini ones.
- Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes.
Nutrition
QUESTIONS/ANSWERS
- Do you need to thaw the shells? The shells need to be thawed before baking but because they're so small it only takes a few minutes.
- Can you freeze them? These can be made ahead, cooked, then frozen. Just be careful when reheating them that you don't cook them or your crust will be rock hard.
- How many mini tart shells does one can of pie filling fill? 1 standard can of pie filling is 2 cups which would fill 36 mini tarts at 1 tablespoon of filling per tart.
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Liz
Those look fantastic! I think I must make them.
Karen
I know! LOL. I guess I shouldn't say that about my own post, but I must say I was pretty impressed with myself for coming up with it! Today I bought some apple pie filling to make some quick, tiny apple pie tarts complete with tiny, little lattice tops. *Very* excited about them! Thanks. :) ~ karen
Amy
Thanks for the quick therapy fix..I can always count on you for a good laugh.
Rose campion
Ought. So cute. I've never seen those pre-made tart shells before, but I'm going to keep an eye open for them now that I know such a thing exists. True confession time- even though I love to bake and can make just about any kind of cake or cookie, I'm just rubbish when it comes to pie crust. I'd never ever buy a cake mix, but always buy pre-made pie crusts.
Sarah McDonnell
Oh, honey! If I can do it, you can, Rose! Try this: 3:2:1 ratio flour:fat ( butter/lard mix is good):liquid. That works out to 1 cup of low gluten flour ( White Lily if you are in the Southeast US), 6 tablespoons of butter, 3 tablespoons of water for a single 9 inches. Pinch the flour and fat between your fingers... I find it handy to pretend I am the Headsquisher from the Kids in the Hall...so that there are irregular chunks that are about the size of peas. Add water, mix with abandon, chill, let the crust chill as well, roll it out on floury wax paper. Egg wash or not. Prebake or not. Voila! You are ready to make pies or hand pies or tarts or fried pies or quiche or whatever your heart desires. Benton's Bacon grease is fabulous as part of the fat.
Didn't we learn from Karen that we can do anything someone else can do as long as we are sober? Plus, if you make piecrust in high heels it makes one feel really badass.
Melody Madden
Yummy...think I can manage this one..love cherries
Caitlin
How many mini tart shells does one can of pie filling fill? That sentence sounds like a tongue twister. But seriously?
Karen
Caitlin! I dunno. I did a "bunch" of tarts and didn't even come close to using up the can. My official answer is "a lot". You can fill "a lot" of shells. ~ karen
Traci
So very cute!!! I am not a very good baker, but I think I can do these...what are your thoughts on eggwash over the crust to make it more shiny? Ooh! How about those giant sugar crystals on top? Too much?
Pam
Traci,I'm with you- more is more! How about also dumping some cream cheese in each tart before the pie filling? The sugar would be beautiful. Let's also think of ways to add chocolate...
Tina
Yes! That was my thought too...
blake
So...
A: I love your blog!
B: I too lay awake at night and think of ways to make things into things
C: I adore sweets, never bake, and wish I was one of those moms that do. But the oven has been broken since we killed it on Thanksgiving therefore I need a post on how to fix a vintage electric oven circa 1965...
Kthanksbye!
Tina
I have a brand new (well, 13 month old) house with brand new (13 month old) fancy appliances but recently I went nutso on amazon and bought a toaster oven/real oven/convection oven. It was $79. Then an hour later I went to send the link to my son and damned if it hadn’t gone on sale for $49!
So I messaged amazon and said I wanted the $30 refunded and the woman said no! She said it wasn’t their policy to price match. But it was THEIR price! And less than 2 hours before! But she refused.
So I texted again and the guy said just to return it when it arrived and then reorder at the new price. But that would take DAYS.
So then I called amazon because I am nothing if not tenacious. And the guy I spoke with said they couldn’t refund the $30 because they don’t price match and that I could return it but what he’d do, because I’m SUCH a good customer (or they just wanted to shut me up) he’d refund the entire $79 price and when the oven arrived, I could just keep it. Free!
Anyway, my message is that amazon has a really nice toaster oven/regular oven/ convection oven (and it can even hold a 9x13 dish) for either $79 or $49 and it’s a bargain. I think it’s Oster. So now you can bake tiny pies!
Melanie's Randomness
I literally gasped at this post!! Omg how cool is that! It's a heart!! I have to do this!!! Ooo totally following & Bookmarking your post!!
Melanie's Randomness
shirley huang
Great tips!!! Thanks.
anna
Those tarts are so freaking adorable! As someone who also doesn't care too much for valentine's day AND who lingers a little too long at the cheese aisle, i can appreciate the simplicity. I love how you stepped it up a notch with the lattice-work :)
Gretchen
Enjoyed this sooo much,you really crack me up!!
My hubby loves cherry so I think I will labor away and make these for him on Valentines day!
Thanks!!!
Nitpicker Mike
Wow. You have no-label cans. How do you know what's inside? Could have been crushed tomato or kidney bean tarts. Exciting!
Kat@YeOldCollegeTry
We got the cart with the squeaky wheel yesterday at Sam's Club. After loading two kids plus diaper bag and reusable grocery bags, we were committed. It was a noisy experience.
I don't know which is worse- the squeaky wheel or the wonky wheel.
Lori
Brilliant! I'm always up for easy and cherry pie filling? Unlike you, I love my sweets.
Barb
HeHe, I just found your blog a few days ago, you crack me up, I love your wit and style of writing. Great morning chuckle.
Barb
Karen
Thanks Barb! I appreciate you coming back after you initially found me! ~ karen
Allison
I am new to your blog and can tell I will be looking forward to your posts. I needed this dose of laughter tonight! Thanks! I think I may try to whip up these cherry tarts, too.
Karen
Thanks Allison! And welcome to the blog. ~ karen
Norell
If it wasn't midnight with me in pajamas, I'd head for the closest grocery store and make some right now - and probably eat most of them before the family wakes up. Oh well, there's always tomorrow!!
Laura
I don't have a diary aisle in my store. I know if there was it would be full of embarrassing stories from my 7th grade dances.
Karen
Laura! LOL. Oops. Dear dairy, Today I got my ... Nevermind. Diary has since been fixed to read dairy! Thx. ~ karen
Jean Molesworth Kee
An inspiration for my blogging technique. You crack me up at 12pm on a Monday nite. : ) What kind of camera do u use???? Great photos! U really capture the texture of that cherry pie goo.
Karen
Jean! Thanks. The camera isn't anything too fancy, a Nikon D40. I have quite a nice macro lens on it though! Plus cherry pie goo tends to look good no matter what. ~ karen
nancy (aka moneycoach)
Love it. I do believe even *I* could manage this one. Move over, smittenkitchen.