Mini dessert recipe bursting with blueberries in a pastry crust and topped with a sweet and crunchy coconut streusel. Blueberry Tarts are the perfect size for individual servings and eating out-of-hand.
I love making these sweet treats for company and carrying to BBQs and picnics.
It’s like bringing a mini blueberry pie for each guest that can be eaten on a plate with a fork, or carried around and eaten like a cookie. People are always asking for the recipe.
Ingredients
Pie Crust – It starts with 2 premade refrigerated pie crusts. You can use a homemade crust if you like. You’ll need a double crust recipe to make these.
Blueberries – You’ll need about two cups of blueberries. Frozen or fresh will work. If you use frozen, don’t thaw them first, you want to keep the juices inside the berries until they bake.
Sugar – 3 tablespoons of white sugar are all you need to sweeten the filling. If the blueberries are super sweet you can reduce the sugar a bit.
Cornstarch – 1 tablespoon of cornstarch will be used to thicken the filling as it cooks. Don’t worry, it will cook into the filling and you will never see or it or even know it’s in there. I have never substituted cornstarch with flour so I don’t know how it would turn out. I suspect it would be fine, but I can’t make any promises.
For the streusel, you will need 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut, and 4 tablespoons of melted butter. I use salted butter, if you are using unsalted butter you will need a pinch of salt.
How to Make
- Start by preheating an oven to 350ºF and allowing the pie crust to sit at room temperature for a bit.
- Prepare a standard cupcake pan by spraying with non-stick baking spray or lightly greasing each hole. Make sure you coat the sides well so the cooked blueberries don’t stick.
- Once the pie crusts are manageable, unroll one of the pie crusts onto a lightly floured surface and smooth out any wrinkles. Cut each pie crust into six 4-inch circles. I usually use a glass or cup for this. When using a smaller 3 1/2-inch glass you will be able to get 7 circles from each pie crust.
- Lay one circle of dough into each hole. (Photo 1)
- Gently press the dough into the hole and up the sides. (Photo 2)
- Repeat with the other pie crust.
- Once the pie crust pieces have all been formed, mix the blueberries with the sugar and the cornstarch.
- Place the filling on top of each pie crust piece, trying not to overfill. There will be leftover sugar and cornstarch in the bowl. Sprinkle these crumbs over the berries, using more on any berries that look particularly bald. (Photo 3)
- Next, mix the shredded coconut and flour. Now add the melted butter to the coconut and flour mixture and stir until it is all moistened.
- Evenly sprinkle the blueberry filling with the streusel. (Photo 4) You can skip the coconut streusel and add your favorite topping.
- Place the assembled tarts into the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the blueberry filling is bubbling up and the topping has turned a golden brown.
- Once the tarts are done baking, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool at least 5 minutes before attempting to remove from the pan. By letting them cool the filling will firm up a bit and they will be easier to remove from the pan in one piece.
- Once they have cooled slightly you can remove them from the pan. You may need to loosen any baked-on blueberries by using a knife. Let the tarts cool on a rack before adding them any kind of container so steam doesn’t make the crusts soft.
Tips for Success
- When using frozen blueberries do not thaw.
- Pick through fresh blueberries and remove any stems, unripe, or smashed berries.
- Sugar in the filling can be reduced to 2 tablespoons when using super-sweet blueberries.
- After mixing the filling, do not discard extra dry ingredients in the bowl, sprinkle it over the filling in the tart shells.
- Allow the tarts to cool for 5 minutes then loosen from the sides of the pan. Do not allow them to cool for too long or the blueberries on the edges will solidify before you have a chance to loosen them.
- Coconut streusel is optional and can be replaced with your favorite pie streusel.
Storing
These tarts can be stored at room temperature, covered, or uncovered for up to 3 days before they start to get soggy.
They can also be frozen solid in an individual layer and then transferred to an air-tight freezer container and stored for up to 3 months. To thaw the tarts, place them onto a plate or cooling rack in a single layer and allow them to thaw completely with touching.
To serve warm simply reheat one to two tarts in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds. If you want them even hotter, just repeat.
How to Serve
These can be served warm or at room temperature.
These tarts are small enough to be eaten like a cookie once cooled.
For full-size dessert serve two on a plate with a fork topped with whipped cream.
To serve warm, heat in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds. Top warm blueberry tarts with ice cream for the ultimate summer dessert.
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Blueberry Tarts with Coconut Streusel
Equipment
Ingredients
Tarts
- 2 refrigerated pie crusts homemade can be used
- 10 ounces frozen blueberries or 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Coconut Streusel
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup shredded or flaked sweetened coconut
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
Tarts
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Soften pie crusts, following package directions.
- Spray 2 muffin tins with baking spray and set aside.
- Unroll pie crusts on a lightly floured surface.
- Use a 3 1/2 to 4-inch round glass or cookie cutter and cut as many rounds out as possible. I usually get 12 to 14 depending on the glass size used.
- Place pie crust rounds into cups of muffin tins and gently form mini pie crusts.
- In a bowl, mix blueberries, 2 tablespoons of white sugar, and cornstarch.
- Evenly place blueberry mixture into mini crusts. There will be sugar and cornstarch in the bottom of the bowl. Evenly sprinkle this over the filling in the crusts.
Streusel
- Combine remaining 3 tablespoons of white sugar, flour, and coconut in a separate bowl. Toss to combine.
- Add melted butter to flour and coconut. Mix until large crumbs form.
- Sprinkle evenly over pie filling.
Bake the Tarts
- Place in 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until crumb topping is brown and filling is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven. Cool for at least 5 minutes.
- Loosen tarts from the muffin tins.
- Remove from muffin tins and cool completely, or serve warm with ice cream.
Notes
- The number of finished tarts will depend on the size of the cutter used. I get between 15 and 19.
- Do not thaw frozen blueberries if using.
- Remove any stems, unripe, or smashed blueberries when using fresh.
- Reduce sugar in the filling if blueberries are overly sweet.
- Use all of the extra dry ingredients from the filling by sprinkling over blueberry filling in the tart shells prior to baking.
- Allow the tarts to cool for 5 minutes and immediately loosen from the sides of the pan.
- Coconut streusel is optional and can be replaced with your favorite pie streusel.
