Gluten-Free Tartlet Shells (mini tart shells)

These easy Gluten-Free Tartlet Shells are flaky, buttery, and made with just six ingredients in a mini muffin pan.

Add any of your favorite fillings and garnishes to these gluten-free mini tarts.

They are the perfect bite-sized appetizer for parties!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 10

Chill Time 30

Total Time 1 25

Servings people

Calories 51kcal

Author Rebecca Taig

Ingredients

8 tablespoons butter, chilled Chop into cubes and freeze for 15 minutes, prior to use.
1¼ cup Gluten-Free Flour (170 grams) Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup sour cream (60 grams)
3 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

Making The Pastry

In a large food processor, add the cold diced butter straight from the freezer, gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt. Pulse for around 10-15 times, or until the butter chunks form into pea-sized pieces throughout the flour.
Add the sour cream and 3 tablespoons of ice-cold water to the food processor. Pulse for another 8 seconds until the pastry becomes small coarse crumbles.
(The pastry crumbles will be slightly dry, do not be tempted to add more water.) Pinch a piece of dough between your fingers and if it sticks together, it’s done.
Transfer dough to a clean work surface, and with clean floured hands, gather the dough forming the pastry into a ball. This will take a few minutes to form. Resist the urge to knead the dough. Flaten the dough into a disc, and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Rolling The Pastry

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Grease a mini muffin pan and set aside.
Place the dough on a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment paper over the top of the dough, and carefully roll out the pastry to about ¼ - inch thick.
Occasionally, remove the top piece of parchment paper to rotate and lift the dough. This will help ensure the dough is not sticking to the bottom piece of parchment paper. If the pastry starts to crack, it may be too cold. Carefully push the dough back together and continue to roll out while lifting and rotating.
Using a 2.5” biscuit cutter, cut 28 circles. You will need to roll out the dough 2-3 times for all 28 circles.
Lift each circle with a spatula for easy transfer to the muffin tin. Using the tips of your fingers, gently push each piece of pastry into the individual mini muffin tin slots.

Bake The Mini Tart Shells

Par-bake: Once the pastry is added to the mini muffin pan, par-bake the shells for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let the tart shells sit for 5 minutes. (If adding a filling to the tart shells, you can leave the shells in the pan and follow the recipe as directed.)
Fully bake: Bake mini tarts for 15 minutes or until centers are crisp and dry.

Notes

Freeze The Butter:

The key to getting a flaky tart crust is to add really cold butter to the flour. Unwrap the butter from the paper coating it comes in, and place the wrapper on a plate. Then cut the butter into cubes and assemble the cubes on top of the paper wrapper. Place the plate of butter in the freezer for 15 minutes. Dairy-free can be substituted as needed.

Measure With a Food Scale:

I recommend using a food scale to measure the gluten-free flour and sour cream. The gluten-free flour should weigh 170 grams and the sour cream weighs 60 grams.

Do Not Overwork The Dough:

The initial pastry dough will be crumbly, but if you continue to squeeze the dough until it just comes together, you will have nice flaky layers.

Do Not Add More Water:

This pastry starts out very dry, do not be tempted to add more water or you risk the dough becoming tough and not flaky.

Nutrition