Cream Cheese Tarts Recipes

CHERRY CREAM CHEESE TARTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and extract until smooth. Spoon into shells. Top with pie filling. Refrigerate until serving.

CREAM CHEESE TART SHELLS

Steps:

• Blend cream cheese and butter or margarine. Stir in flour just until blended. Chill about 1 hour. This can be made ahead and chilled for up to 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Shape dough into 24 one-inch balls and press into ungreased 1 1/2 inch muffin cups (mini-muffin size) to make a shallow shell. Fill with your favorite filling and bake for 20 minutes, or until the crust is light brown.

CREAM CHEESE TARTS (PAULA DEEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup (12 total) of muffin pan.
• Beat cream cheese with electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
• Place a vanilla wafer FLAT side down, in each muffin cup. Spoon cream cheese mixture over wafers filling each to about 1/4 inch from top of paper.
• Bake for 20 minutes.
• Allow tarts to cool completely before filling. When you remove the tarts from the oven, they will be puffed up, but as they cool, the center will sink, creating the perfect well to fill with a couple of spoonfuls of your favorite filling.
• Chill thoroughly before serving.

CREAM CHEESE TARTS

Steps:

• Mix first five ingredients, beat at high speed.
• Line tart pan with paper liners (small).
• Put vanilla wafers in liners bottom side down.
• Spoon 1 T batter onto wafer.
• Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. Let cool.
• Top with cherry pie filling or any fruit.
• Yields 3 dozen large tarts or 6 dozen small tarts. These can be frozen.

SWEET CHEESE TARTS

Steps:

• In a chilled mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, butter, and lard. Rub the flour and fat together with your fingertips until the mixture is flaky and the consistency of coarse bread crumbs. Drizzle half of the beaten egg over and toss until the dough comes together, adding the remaining egg if necessary to bind the dough. Gather the dough into a compact ball and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling out.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. With a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, cut the dough into 3 1/2 inch rounds. Gather the scraps into a ball, re-roll them and cut more rounds. Repeat until you have used all the dough. Fit the dough rounds into ungreased 2 1/2 inch tart pans or the cups of a muffin pan, pressing them gently against the bottoms and sides to form deep molds. Place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm the dough. Place the tins on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Set the shells aside in their tins to cool.
• Reduce the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer or with a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese, farmers cheese, and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, cinnamon, and salt and beat until smooth.
• Spoon the filling into the tart shells, dividing it evenly, and filling up to within 1/4-inch of the top. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until the filling is set and doesn't jiggle when shaken. Cool the tarts to room temperature and carefully slip them out of their tins. Serve, garnished with a few grape halves.

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB CREAM CHEESE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, mix flour and salt; cut in butter and shortening until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide into five portions. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of five ungreased 4-in. fluted tart pans with removable bottoms; place on a baking sheet., For cream cheese filling, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add egg; beat on low speed just until blended. Divide evenly among pastries., For strawberry-rhubarb filling, in a large saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Stir in strawberries and rhubarb; bring to a boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened; spoon over cream cheese mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes or until filling is set. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour., For drizzle, in a small saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in cream. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and transfer to a small bowl; stir in rum. Press waxed paper onto surface of cream mixture. Cool to room temperature., Sprinkle almonds over tarts; drizzle with cream mixture. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE TARTS

Steps:

• Combine sugar, thawed strawberries, and any strawberry juice in a heavy pot over medium heat. Stir constantly and bring to a boil, being careful not to burn the sugar. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, 15 to 30 minutes. Place syrup in the refrigerator to chill, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 24-cup mini muffin tins.
• Cut butter into flour until well mixed and granular. Mix in just enough water (1 tablespoon at a time) to make a dough.
• Roll dough on a floured working surface with a floured rolling pin until very thin and almost transparent. Use a large round cookie cutter to cut out circles of dough. Lightly press circles into the prepared muffin cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven until light brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
• Meanwhile, beat powdered sugar, cream cheese, and whipping cream together until well mixed.
• Fill each cooled pastry crust with cream cheese filling, then drizzle with strawberry syrup and garnish with mint leaves.