Mini Lemon Macaroon Tartlets are a bite-sized dessert that is simple to make and simply addictive!
All you need are a few ingredients and a mini muffin pan to create these cute little shells. They have a crisp exterior and tender chewy center thanks to the thickness of the coconut. Once baked to a light golden brown, they’re filled with luscious lemon curd for a perfect balance of sweet and tart. A squirt of whipped cream and a sprinkle of toasted coconut add the finishing touches. Now, try to eat just one!
Inspiration
For my birthday, the hubby gave me a lovely assortment of gourmet food items, including jars of lemon and lime curd. Right away the culinary wheels started turning on what I could do with my curds. That’s when this 25+-year-old Cooking Light recipe came to mind.
The original recipe includes direction for making your own curd. I, of course, skipped that step in favor of using my own. So far I’ve only tried the lemon curd. But I plan to try the lime curd with the tartlets stashed in my freezer. If you’re up for making your own, head to this link for a Lemon Curd recipe.
Forming Shells for Mini Tartlets
The simple ingredients for these delectable macaroon shells includes coconut of course. Sugar, because hello we’re talking dessert here. Plus flour, vanilla, and egg whites. You don’t even have to beat the egg whites. Just combine all the ingredients in a bowl and start filling your greased muffin tin.
It does take some time to form the shells, but it’s so worth it! I figured out that wetting your fingertips after forming each shell was the trick. Just fill a small bowl of water and park it next to your muffin pan. Don’t worry if they’re not all perfectly uniform. Once filled, and topped, they’ll be uniformly delicious.
Ways to Enjoy Your Mini Lemon Macaroon Tartlets
- I love the idea of serving these for Easter or a Mothers Day celebration. Small desserts provide a sweet finale that doesn’t overwhelm and the option for a few different dessert choices.
- Mix it up and use lime curd, passion fruit curd, or whatever fruit-flavored curd you can find.
- You can use a regular-sized muffin pan, like the original recipe, which yields 12 tartlet shells. If you opt for this larger size, increase the bake time to 12-15 minutes.
- Enjoy your tartlets all at once, or a few at a time by popping the rest in the freezer. Thaw frozen tartlets in the counter for 30-60 minutes before filling and topping.
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Mini Lemon Macaroon Tartlets
Ingredients
Macaroon Shells
- 2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. flour
- 2 egg whites
- cooking spray
Tarts
- purchased lemon curd (about 4 oz)
- whipped cream, Reddi Wip, or whipped topping
- 1/4 cup toasted coconut
Instructions
Macaroon Shells
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Spray the mini muffin pans with cooking spray.
- Divide mixture evenly between 2 mini muffin pans to create 24 shells. Or if using 1 pan, divide mixture in half and form 12 shells. Then repeat this process with the remaining mixture after baking the first batch. It helps to use a small bowl of water to wet fingertips after forming each shell.
- Bake tartlet shells for 10 minutes or until edges are browned. Cool for 2 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the edge of the shell to loosen before removing them from the pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Assemble Tartlets
- Fill each shell (or desired amount of shells) with lemon curd. Top with whipped cream (I used RediWip which worked great) and top with toasted coconut. Enjoy!
Notes
- See the link in this post for making your own lemon curd if you’d like to go that route.
- You can use a regular muffin pan to create 12 larger tartlets vs 24 mini tartlets. Plan to bake the larger shells for 12-15 minutes. You will also require additional lemon curd to fill the larger shells.
- If you are not using all of the tartlet shells at once, place them in an airtight container (I use a zip lock bag) and freeze them for later use. Thaw before filling.
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