Tuesday, February 21, 2012

TWD: BWJ - Chocolate Truffle Tartlets

So, there I was procrastinating again. I was talking with Laurie on Sunday and she assured me that cold butter was needed for the crust. No prep time really to make it. So why was it when she sent me a text with a photo of her gorgeous tart at 4:00 Monday afternoon that I hadn't started the crust yet? I started.

I did my crust in the food processor. I love being able to whir dough together in seconds. I did need to use quite a bit more water than called for. The recipe asks for 1 T, and I ended up using 4 T before the dough would come together. After a 60 minute chill, I cut the dough into six little chunks and pressed them into my tart pans. I know, I know, the directions said to roll. But I was a) lazy and b) wary because of the troubles some of the other bakers had with rolling. I knew I was sacrificing some tenderness, but I did it anyway. I baked my tarts with their bottoms on right on the oven rack. They came out perfectly.

I decided to make only half the filling. (I did make and bake the full dough recipe. I now have three lovely mini chocolate tart shells well wrapped and waiting in the freezer for my next tart experience.) I melted my butter and chocolate in the microwave. (lazy) The rest of the ingredients were duly whipped together and I added the chocolate mix. I didn't have biscotti, so I went with what I did have. Thin mints! (The Girl is a Girl Scout and I was the cookie mom for her troop. I have LOTS of cookies at my house.) I decided to skip the white and milk chocolate because I wanted a more dark/bitter taste to our tarts.

Four hours after beginning, I was done!

We ate the tart while it was still warm, so it was a bit soft. Still, warm minty chocolate on a delicious chocolate crust? Win! The whole gang gave this one a thumbs up.

Lousy photo due to no natural light.

This one was so much easier than I was expecting it to be. It was delicious and just elegant enough for a nice dinner.

For much better photos and the recipe, please visit one of our host's blogs: Jessica, Spike, Jaime, and Steph.
at

31 comments:

  1. Peggy2/21/12, 7:10 AM

    I think your photo looks great! We absolutely loved these tarts and I was hesitant to make them. I have extra dough in the freezer so I now have to make some more filling at some point. The dough was hard to roll out so patting it in was probably easier than rolling. Yours looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Im At Home Baking2/21/12, 7:32 AM

    Looks yummy! I really had fun making these and much easier than I thought they were going to be.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Julia2/21/12, 7:33 AM

    I did manage to roll the dough out, but it was tricky. I think you had the right idea by pressing it in.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cristine2/21/12, 7:41 AM

    I pressed my dough into the pan, too! Much easier!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jodie2/21/12, 10:17 AM

    Looks so yummy with all that filling!

    ReplyDelete
  6. tierneymarie2/21/12, 12:23 PM

    I wonder why so many people needed to add extra water? Very strange. So glad you liked the tarts though!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Unknown2/21/12, 12:37 PM

    Lovely! Thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wendy (pinkstripes)2/21/12, 2:36 PM

    Thin mints sound like a great add-in.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Heather2/21/12, 3:10 PM

    Your tarts look great! Oh boy, Thin Mints. It's probably a good thing I didn't think of that or these wouldn't have lasted as long!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jen2/21/12, 4:04 PM

    Great photo! Artificial lighting can be tricky :) Looks like your tart came out great!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kris' Kitchen2/21/12, 5:36 PM

    Looks perfect. I also added more crust water...always do here in AZ, so dry. And any time I can use a modern machine to do some of the work, I'm all for it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jill2/21/12, 6:29 PM

    Thin mints sound like a fantastic addition! I agree that this was easier to make than expected. Maybe TWD toughened us up!

    ReplyDelete
  13. spike.2/21/12, 8:00 PM

    Thin mintssound perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Unknown2/21/12, 8:32 PM

    Thin mints! Of course! Can't go wrong there.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous2/21/12, 9:50 PM

    I love the chocolate mint combination...it sounds like a delicious variation.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Welcome to our crazy blessed life2/21/12, 10:02 PM

    I love that you used thin mints! :) I have a girl scout too but didn't think about using them for the tarts. Nice job improvising. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. ferda2/21/12, 10:20 PM

    MInt and chocolate, sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  18. rhonda2/22/12, 8:45 AM

    Wow, our tarts do look similar. Those plates were part of my grandmother's wedding china, now passed down to me.
    Interesting that you used thin mints. I love that idea!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Cher Rockwell2/22/12, 11:37 AM

    I really am enjoying all of cookie substitutions - thin mints - mmmm...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kristine Kelly2/22/12, 2:43 PM

    Love the idea of the thin mints! I ended up using Bordeaux cookies from Pepperidge farm, but they didn't hold their crunch as much as I would have liked.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Unknown2/22/12, 5:08 PM

    Awesome that you used thin mints, too! Loved your post.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Melissa2/22/12, 8:00 PM

    Thin mints are a great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Warrior Wife2/22/12, 9:14 PM

    The tart looks amazing! I had a lot of fun making these, can't wait for the next recipe!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Erin2/23/12, 7:44 AM

    Those look wonderful! I love the idea of Thin Mints, I am salivating right now!!! I was lazy too and used the microwave and patted the dough.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Baking is my Zen...sweet nibbles for the soul2/23/12, 7:52 PM

    Jules,
    Like the addition of thin mints.

    ~ Carmen
    http://bakingismyzen.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous2/24/12, 1:59 PM

    Mmm, thin mints - sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Gretchen Noelle2/26/12, 5:33 PM

    oh heavens. thin mints??? be still my beating heart!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Sara2/26/12, 9:27 PM

    It's really hard to always get natural light! I feel your pain1

    ReplyDelete
  29. Unknown2/28/12, 7:54 AM

    Thin mints sound like a great choice. Kind of a Peppermint Patty. I agree this was easier than I expected.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Unknown2/28/12, 11:38 AM

    Thin Mints - awesome! I am a Daisy co-leader this year, and let's just say I am in awe of the cookie moms. Nice job with the tart! And fwiw, I pressed, not rolled, my crust too - why make yourself crazy?

    Thanks for baking along and everything else you are doing for TWD2.0!

    ReplyDelete
  31. steph- whisk/spoon2/28/12, 3:58 PM

    yes, not so complicated, but really good. way to go with the thin mints!

    ReplyDelete