My husband Ryan is a fruit dessert lover through and through. Some of his favorite desserts to date are my grandma’s apple pie and last year’s birthday dessert: the lemon tart. I didn’t know if I could beat the lemon tart, it’s the kind of dessert that stands in a class of its own. Instead, I asked him if I could make a fruit tart for his birthday. I was confident he’d like it and it wasn’t so difficult that I’d spent our fun weekend in Chicago stressing over it.
Cooking the Magazines: Cream Cheese Fruit Tarts
Cookie crusted tarts topped with a cream cheese filling and fresh fruit.
The dessert ended up being easier than I imagined and everyone, Ryan included, seemed to like it more than I had anticipated…I’d call that a win win! Southern Living’s original recipe made 6 four-inch tarts, but I doubled the recipe (and made a little extra filling) to make 12 tarts since Ryan forewarned me he was going to want at least three for himself!
Any fruit would be good on these—berries, bananas, pineapple, whatever floats your boat! My friend Maggie and I used kiwi, raspberries, blueberries, and peaches, which ended up being aesthetically pleasing and gave us the chance to enjoy summer produce while we still could!
The original recipe also called for a shortbread cookie crust but after tasting how good the crust on the No Bake Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake was, I opted for a vanilla sandwich cookie crust, a decision I don’t regret!
Make these when you need an easy dessert that looks impressive, or if you too have a fruit dessert-loving spouse/friend/neighbor that needs a birthday treat!
Cream Cheese Fruit Tarts
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 12-24 1x
Description
Cookie crusted tarts topped with a cream cheese filling and fresh fruit
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 20 oz. (570 g) vanilla sandwich cookies (you'll want about 4 cups of crumbs)
- 12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
- 16 oz. (450 g) cream cheese, softened (I used low fat)
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) sugar
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- assorted fresh fruit
Instructions
- To prepare the crust, preheat the oven to 325F. Pulse cookies in a food processor to get crumbs. Stir together crumbs and melted butter. Press crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of 12 (4-inch) tart pans with removable bottoms. Place on 2 baking sheets.
- Bake crusts for 9 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer tart pans to a wire rack and allow to cool completely (about 30 minutes).
- To prepare the filling, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon mixture into crusts, using a knife to smooth evenly. Cover and chill for 1-24 hours.
- Just before serving (or 1-2 hours before), remove tarts from pans and top with assorted fresh fruit.
- *Note: tarts are best eaten the day they’re topped with the fruit!
Notes
- Adapted from Southern Living June 2010
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tart
- Calories: 390
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this recipe use a vanilla sandwich cookie crust instead of shortbread?
The original Southern Living recipe called for a shortbread crust, but the author swapped it for a vanilla sandwich cookie crust after loving the crust on a no-bake cheesecake she’d made previously. She used about 20 oz (4 cups of crumbs) of vanilla sandwich cookies mixed with 12 tbsp melted butter and says she doesn’t regret the change.
When should I top the tarts with fruit?
Top the tarts with fruit no more than 1–2 hours before serving. The instructions note that tarts are best eaten the day they’re topped — the fruit releases moisture that softens the crust over time.
How far ahead can the shells and filling be prepared?
The baked crusts can be filled with the cream cheese mixture and then covered and chilled for anywhere from 1 hour up to 24 hours before you plan to serve them — making these a great make-ahead dessert for parties.
they look really cute