“THE SWEET TOOTH IS A GLOBAL PHENOMENON, AND THERE ARE DELIGHTFUL NUGGETS TO BE FOUND EVERYWHERE.” Mark Bittman
Delightful nuggets, indeed! I don’t know about you, but I always love having a ‘whole something’ all to myself. Not a slice or a piece….but my own little dessert, no matter how small! And I’ve become enamored with petite sweets. Maybe it’s for that reason. But when ‘indulging in moderation’, it’s nice to have a one or two bite dessert. And I think they are also easier to eat and serve when entertaining. I found this dessert in Yankee magazine. And being a New England girl at heart, I just had to try it! A delicate and buttery, hazelnut shell is filled with rich, chocolate ganache and just a sweet hint of raspberry! Check it out…..
Yields: 24 Tartlets
Level of Difficulty: Easy
FOR THE SHELLS:
- 1 1/2 cups of whole hazelnuts
- 10 Tablespoons of salted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup of firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup of all purpose flour
Using a food processor, chop the hazelnuts to the texture of course sand. In your standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend the butter and brown sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and the chopped hazelnuts, and mix just until the dough forms a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
When you are ready to bake the tartlets, preheat your oven to 350°F. Thoroughly grease a mini tart pan with butter. You may use a mini muffin pan, but they will be a little larger. Form about 2 teaspoons of dough into a ball and then press it into the tart cup, creating a well for the filling. I used the blunt handle end of a whisk to create a uniform well in each tart. Bake until the shells are golden brown, about 15 minutes. The dough puffs a bit while cooking. So when I removed them from the oven, I used the end of my whisk again to press the well of the tartlets. Let the shells cool completely in the pan.
FOR THE GANACHE:
- 2 cups of miniature semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup of heavy cream
Place the chocolate chips in a heat safe mixing bowl. In a heavy saucepan, heat the cream over medium high heat until it just begins to simmer. Immediately remove it from the heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Stir continuously until all the chocolate is melted and blended. Refrigerate until ready to fill the shells.
TO ASSEMBLE YOU WILL NEED:
- 1/2 cup of seedless raspberry preserves
- 1 pint of fresh raspberries
Carefully lift and remove cooled tart shells from pan. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of preserves into the bottom of each shell. Using a pastry bag, pipe the ganache into each shell until just full. Press a whole raspberry, upside down, into the ganache.
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Yankee.