Sugar Cookie Fruit Tarts are lovely sugar cookie cups filled with vanilla custard & topped with your favorite fruit! They’re a quick dessert using seasonal fruit. Sugar Cookie crust mini tarts perfect for Mother’s Day, a Baby Shower or Bridal Showers!
We’re big fans of fruit tarts here in our house. We love the fresh fruit flavors paired with the differing textures of the custard and sweet berries on top. I love that they’re gorgeous when served too! Display them on dessert stands or on a pretty platter for a show stopping easy summer dessert.
Easy Mini Fruit Tarts
Traditionally tart shells are made with a sweet or savory crust that takes hours of prep work to keep doughs chilled to perfection and once baked they’re filled with a homemade filling. We’re cutting corners but not cutting out taste thanks to our cookie crust and vanilla pudding filling. This semi-homemade cookie tart recipe is a variation of fruit pizza & takes minutes to prepare.
Sugar Cookie Fruit Tarts Ingredients
For the Custard:
-Vanilla Pudding: With a large box (4.6 ounce) of the cook and serve vanilla pudding we have the base of our filling.
-Milk: We need to use 3 cups of whole milk as specified on the pudding box. We want a thicker custard-like filling, so using thick non-dairy options like cashew or coconut milk will work also.
-Vanilla Bean Paste: This helps to really bring the vanilla flavor out and make it more pronounced. We need 1 ½ teaspoon to make our filling taste incredible. You can use extract instead if you don’t have a paste.
For the Sugar Cookie Dough:
-Flour: The base of our cookie dough is 2 1/3 cups of all purpose flour.
-Baking powder: We want our cookie crust to puff up while baking so we will need 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
-Spices: We want 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg to make our cookie crust taste incredible.
-Sugar: To keep our crust nice and sweet we will use 1 1/4 cups of granulated white sugar.
-Butter: We need to use ¾ cup of softened salted butter (1 ½ sticks). If you use unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt into the recipe to help enhance the flavors.
-Eggs: 2 eggs are our cookie dough binders, helping the cookie crusts to stay together and not crumble apart.
-Maple syrup: We need 1 tablespoon of maple syrup to add in a little more sweetness and flavor. You can swap this out for honey or agave nectar if desired.
-Vanilla: 1 ¾ teaspoons of vanilla will help to enhance the flavors in our crust and make it taste great. Use higher quality vanilla for better results.
For the Fresh Fruit on top:
Fresh berries: One pint each of blueberries and raspberries work wonderfully but you can choose any fruit including strawberries or blackberries, apples, mandarin oranges or even pineapple! You can get creative & use red & blue berries for patriotic colors, or any other color fruit to your liking.
Mint leaves: This optional garnish helps to add a little color to the mini fruit tarts and adds a nice contrast in flavors as well.
Powdered sugar: Add a light dusting of powdered sugar over your tarts if desired. If you’d like a shiny glaze instead, melt 1-2 tablespoons apple jelly in a small bowl and brush over the top of the fresh fruit.
How to make mini fruit tarts
Pudding Filling:
In a medium sized saucepan on the stove, prepare the vanilla pudding according to package directions. Make sure to whisk constantly to avoid burning and once thickened remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla paste.
Pour the pudding into a glass bowl and let cool for 5 minutes, then cover the pudding and place in the fridge until ready to use. Preferably overnight.
Sugar Cookie Tart Crust:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray, set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg and then set aside.
In another bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar with the butter until fluffy. Slowly add in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the maple syrup and vanilla extract, beating until combined.
Pour in the flour mixture and stir together until mixed but do not overmix.
Use a small cookie scoop to scoop dough & press dough into the cupcake pan until they’re filled 3/4 of the way full. Pat dough down in the centers of each of the muffin cups to create a well in the center.
Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean. The cookie should look light around the edges.
Remove the pan from the oven and create a divot in the center using a small cup to create space for the filling. Set aside and let cool. Remove from pan.
Once the cookies have cooled off, spoon some of the vanilla pudding filling into the center of each muffin cup and top with fresh berries, mint leaves, and powdered sugar if desired.
Place the tarts in the fridge in a covered container until ready to serve.
Sugar Cookie Fruit Tarts
Ingredients
For the Custard:
- 4.6 oz Cook & Serve Vanilla Pudding Mix
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Bean paste
For the Cookie:
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ¼ cups granulated white sugar
- ¾ cup salted butter softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Toppings:
- 1 pint fresh raspberries
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- Mint leaves optional garnish
- Powdered sugar optional garnish
Instructions
Custard instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Set it aside for now.
- In a medium saucepan make the vanilla pudding according to the back of the pudding box.
- Whisking constantly (so you don’t burn the milk). Bring to a boil and slightly thick, remove the mixture from the heat and mix in the vanilla paste.
- Pour into a glass bowl and let the mixture cool down for five minutes. Then, cover the top of the pudding with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator until ready to fill the cups. I left mine in the refrigerator overnight and worked great! I did have leftover pudding, which I was totally fine with, since it so delicious. I put it in small bowls with a little whipped cream and had it for dessert the next day.
Cookie instructions:
- To make the cookie, in a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir together. Set aside.
- In another bowl, beat the granulated white sugar and salted butter until fluffy. Slowly add in one egg at a time followed by the maple syrup and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
- Pour in the flour mixture and stir until everything is mixed. Do not over mix.
- Scoop dough into muffin tins until it is filled ¾ of the way to the top and press dough into each muffin tin.
- Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the cookie is lightly golden on the edges.
- Remove pan and immediately create a divot in the center of each cookie with a small jar or cup to create space for the filling. Set aside to let cool off. (I over turned my muffin tin onto a cooling rack and let the pan sit upside down a little before removing cookies.)
Assembling the Fruit Tarts
- Once cookies have cooled off, spoon each divot with vanilla custard filling and then top with fresh raspberries, blueberries, mint, and powdered sugar.
- Refrigerate until serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Best when served immediately, or within a few hours.
Nutrition
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How do I store my Custard Cookie recipe?
Our sugar cookie fruit tarts are best served immediately. However, you can prepare & store each of the 3 components separately in an airtight container, then assemble the mini berry tarts just before serving. Already made tarts can be saved too! Just store them in an airtight container in the fridge. The tarts will begin to soften as they’re stored, so they’re best eaten within 2-3 days.
What other fillings can I use for my little fruit tarts?
You can use a homemade custard if you prefer (see recipe below) or even use a different flavor of cooked pudding too. A cream cheese filling, sour cream filling or even a lemon curd would work wonderfully as well.
Can I use instant pudding instead of cooked pudding?
Absolutely! While cooked pudding tastes more custard-like, instant pudding can be used too.
Can I use a cookie mix instead?
Yes, you can use a sugar cookie mix in place of our cookie dough recipe if you’d like. Just follow package instructions to make the dough. Keep note of baking times as the ingredients will likely vary slightly. you can even use sugar cookie dough slices from a tube of store-bought dough!
Can I use homemade custard?
Yes, homemade custard can be a little tricky so I prefer the pudding, but here are the ingredients and instructions for homemade custard if you would like to try it:
Ingredients for Homemade Custard:
- 4 eggs yolks
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
How to make Homemade Custard
- Place the egg yolks in a small bowl so they are ready to add into the custard mixture when it’s time.
- For the custard, heat a medium saucepan to high heat and pour in the whole milk, granulated white sugar, heavy cream, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. Whisk thoroughly. Just before boiling, remove the mixture from the heat.
- Let the mixture cool down for five minutes. Then, whisk in the egg yolks.
- Put the custard mixture back on the stove on low heat. Let it heat up slowly, stirring continuously so that the eggs don’t curdle. Your stovetop should not go above medium low heat.
- Once the custard thickens slightly, remove it from the heat, pour it into a cold bowl, stir for about one minute, then stick it in the refrigerator until later.
Can I make smaller Fruit Tarts?
We used a regular size muffin tin to make our sugar cookie base, but you can use a mini muffin pan instead. The recipe will yield roughly double the amount of little tarts, which is perfect for serving a larger crowd. Just remember to adjust the baking time to 12-14 minutes instead.
More delicious tart recipes:
- FRUIT TART RECIPE
- CHEESY VEGETABLE TARTS
- EASY CARAMEL APPLE TART
- GLAZED STRAWBERRY TART
- MILK TARTS
- EASY PEAR TART
- MINI FRESH FRUIT TARTS
Mini summer Fruit Tarts are lovely sugar cookie cups filled with vanilla custard & topped with your favorite fruit! They’re a perfect dessert for fresh berries. Sugar Cookie crust mini tarts perfect for Mother’s Day or a Baby Shower!
Katie says
These are so easy to make and easily a crowd favorite. Everyone rants and raves!
Diana says
These would make the perfect tea party snack! They are sooo cute and I love the fresh berries on top.
Angela says
Hi there I tried making your tartlets,I’m a very good baker I think lol anyways the dough was rather soft I put it in the fridge and it hardened a bit …at 20 mins they were still soft in the middle ? so left them like 10 mins extra,they were quite thick compared to yours and they rose right up to the top of the tin…??
Jessica says
Well, you chilled them, so yes, they’ll take longer to bake. Try just scooping the cookie dough into the tins and baking. If they puffed up too much to be able to spoon any custard in, just make another divot with the handle of a wooden spoon after baking. They’re supposed to be soft in the middle; youdon’t want to overcook the cookies!