Treat yourself to these yummy Mini Cherry Tarts ... a simple recipe straight from my mother's cookbook!
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Do you have any recipes that bring you straight back to childhood?
These Mini Cherry Tarts are one of those recipes for me. My mom was a wonderful cook, and she made these easy cherry tarts all the time. And as my sister reminisced recently, our little family of four could eat a pan in one night!
It had been years since I'd had a bite of these Mini Cherry Tarts, so I was excited when my sister sent me the recipe. The tarts tasted exactly how I remembered, and I knew that I had to share the recipe with you!
Apart from their fantastic taste, the best thing about these Mini Cherry Tarts is how simple they are to make. Don't let the petite size of these easy cherry tarts fool you, but the recipe is really simple.
These tasty treats are basically mini cherry pies in muffin tins, but better! I love a good pie crust, so I think what makes this recipe unique is the easy cream cheese crust. You only need three ingredients to make it, and it's so delicious!
And since this easy cherry tart recipe uses pie filling, it comes together fast! Less time cooking and more time eating is always a winner in my book!
* This recipe is also available as Web Story 👉 "Cherry Tarts". *
How to Make Mini Cherry Tarts
Like I mentioned, these easy cherry tarts were one of my mom's (and our whole family's) favorite recipes. I know she loved these treats because of how fast and delicious they are, and I know you're going to love this recipe, too!
You really only need four simple ingredients to make these cherry tarts with cream cheese crust ... pretty awesome, right? You'll start by combining cream cheese, butter, and flour to make that delicious crust.
I like to use unsalted butter in my cooking, so I added a generous pinch of salt, too. If you use salted butter, you can skip the salt.
Once the crust ingredients are combined, you'll separate the dough into 12 equal pieces, then press it into a muffin tin. The dough is fairly rich, so if you use a nonstick muffin pan, you can probably skip the nonstick spray, but I added some just in case.
After the dough is pressed into the muffin tins, it's simply a matter of adding the cherry pie filling to the crust. Look for a high quality filling without a lot of crazy ingredients.
You could definitely experiment with different flavors of pie filling, too. My mom always used cherry, but I think I'll try blueberry filling next time.
These mini cherry pies only take about 12 to 15 minutes to cook in a hot oven ... almost instant gratification. If you can resist, let them cool a bit before you dig in!
These yummy cherry tarts are great on their own, but they're even better topped with a generous serving of whipped cream. Then, just try to stop at one!
Mini Cherry Tarts
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup flour
- pinch salt
- nonstick cooking spray
- 1 (20-oz) can cherry pie filling
- whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Mix together butter, cream cheese, flour, and salt until it comes together in a ball.
- Divide dough in half. Then, divide each half into half again. You should have 4 pieces of dough. Divide each of these pieces into thirds so you have 12 pieces of dough.
- Spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray, then place a dough ball in each muffin tin.
- Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of each muffin tin.
- Divide cherry pie filling evenly between crusts.
- Bake tarts for 12 to 15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
- Let tarts cool, then served topped with whipped cream. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Don't these Mini Cherry Tarts look tasty?
I know you're going to love them just as much as my family does!
Are you looking for a delicious summer dinner idea?
Try serving these Mini Cherry Tarts with my Southwest Black Bean Veggie Burgers and Greek Coleslaw with Feta and Lemon like I did.
Everything was so delicious together, and I know I'll be enjoying this meal again soon!
What is your favorite family recipes?
I’ve made cream cheese pastry many times, so I was very comfortable with it, and knew how it would taste, and yes, loved it! Had a jar of Cracker Barrel’s cherry cobbler filling in my pantry and used that. Came out GREAT! Will definitely make it again. I used regular size muffin pan and it did take 5 minutes longer than the recipe states...could be my oven.
I’ve used this pastry recipe in the past to make mini cheesecake...also wonderful! lol
Hi Katie! I'm so glad you enjoyed the tarts. Love the idea of using it for cheesecake ... yum! I also have a pumpkin tarts recipe coming out this fall that will use the same pastry 🙂
Is the butter used right from Fridge? Not room temperature?
Hi, Jennifer! You can let it soften a bit with the cream cheese, just don't let it get too soft. Hope you enjoy the tarts 🙂
I don't know why everyone is naggin' on these tarts like they're garbage, they turned out great for me. I followed the recipe to a T save for adding a couple table spoons of sugar to sweeten it a touch. It had 0 effect on the final pastry's structural integrity. Had some Jarred cherries and peaches from last year, decided to go with tarts and this recipe is great, I love the touch of cream cheese in it, brightens it up nicely~ I doubled the recipe and was able to comfortably make 24(12 Cherry, 12 Peach), Doing standard recipe amount… Read more »
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Matthew! Looks like they turned out great 🙂
I made this recipe for one of my desserts at Thanksgiving. I’ve made alot of cream cheese pastry and was sorely disappointed in this one. I could only make 7 tarts and even with just 7 the crust was too thin to hold a cherry filling. I couldn’t even bring the crust up to the top of the muffin cup. I don’t like the taste of the crust either. The only variance was I used salted butter and did not add salt. I agree totally with Christine McGardell. You and/or your team should revisit recipe.
Hi, Julia! I'm sorry the tarts didn't turn out for you. This is a family recipe, and I've made it more times than I can count. The crust is very thin when you put in the pan, but it puffs up a bit while baking and should be thick / firm enough to hold the filling when baked. I recommend dividing up the dough before adding it to the pan, otherwise you may use too much and not have enough for all the tarts. The other thing that may have been an issue is your muffin pan. Many pans have… Read more »
Can these be frozen after baking?
Hi, Camala! I've never frozen them before, but I think it should be fine. Let me know how it turns out if you try it! 🙂
These were absolutely wonderful! My first time making tarts and they were unbelievably easy. I love that beautiful crust, and now I want to use it for other fillings. Thank you for sharing your family recipe with mine, Ginnie :).
You're welcome, Hanan! It will definitely work with other fillings, too. So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
These came out very well. I was skeptical in mixing the dough when it came out very tacky and was concerned I did not have enough flour. But I made no changes and it came out flaky and golden brown. This is definitely more tart than sweet. To get mine out of the muffin tin, I used a silicone spatula with a flexible tip.
Hi, Matthew! I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe and that it turned out well for you. It's definitely a unique kind of pastry. Thanks for sharing your tips!
How would you make your own sour cherry filling from fresh sour cherries?
Hi, Warren! I've only made this with canned cherries, however it should work with a homemade filling. Check out this recipe (https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/homemade-cherry-pie-filling-recipe/) and note the special instructions for sour cherries. Let me know if you try it, I'd love to hear how it turns out. 🙂
These tarts are horrible. The pastry did not hold. Maybe they should have been made in a mini muffin pan as someone else inquired. Never make these again. Also, the pastry could have used some sugar
Hi, Christine. This is one of my family's favorite recipes, so I'm sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy the tarts. I've made this recipe countless times, and I'm happy to help you troubleshoot it if you'd like to try again. Did you prepare the recipe exactly as written without substitutions? To answer your questions in this comment and your other comments, yes, you do want to use a regular size muffin pan. I've never made it in a mini muffin pan, although you could try it (just keep in mind that the recipe proportions of crust to filling will… Read more »
Should I use the mini muffin tins or regular size muffin tins?
Hi, Ginnie! You should use a regular muffin tin. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Do you need to keep refrigerated them if not serving for several hours ? How long can they be out of refrigerator?
Hi, Carrie! It should be fine if you leave the tarts out for the afternoon for a few hours. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Are you placing tray in middle of oven or bottom rack
Hi, Judy! You want to place the tray in the middle of the oven. Hope you enjoy the tarts!
I made these tonight! I’ve never been a big fan of cherry stuff but these were so good! Already put another can of filling on my shopping list!
I'm so glad you loved the recipe, Ginger! They are definitely addictive 🙂
I made the tarts! Loved them! Easy to make. I wasn't sure if I could get them out of the tin without breaking them. I did! I will definitely make them again!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the tarts, Linda! 🙂
Can you tell me how long these would keep if made in advance?
They should keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated. Hope you enjoy the tarts!
Thanks for the reply, I must have been tired, oops! I remade them and they came out so yummy! Thank you!
I'm so glad they turned out on the second try, Natalie! I think we've all made those kinds of mistakes ... ha ha 😉
Very. Simple to make and delicious
Excellent tarts! Recipe is easy to follow!
Attempted to make these but they never set up in the oven, were just a greasy mess.is the ingredients list correct? 8 oz (2 sticks) of butter with only 1 cup flour?
Hi, Natalie! Thank you for attempting the recipe .... I can see why it didn't turn out. The recipe calls for 8 tablespoons butter (not 8 ounces), so you've accidentally doubled the butter. If you try it again with only 1 stick of butter, not 2, it should turn out. Let me know how it goes! 🙂