These miniature tarts, based on a flaky, rich cream cheese pastry crust, lend themselves to a wide variety of fillings, from sweet to savory. We offer several filling suggestions below, chocolate and ginger being one of our favorites; but we encourage you to get creative and experiment with your own flavor combinations.
To make the dough: Using your favorite tool — a fork, food processor, or electric mixer — beat together the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy.
Add the flour and mix (on low speed, if you're using a mixer, or very briefly in a food processor) until the dough has formed a loose ball.
Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a flat 1"-thick disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or waxed paper, and refrigerate it for one hour, or up to three days. Or freeze for up to three months.
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 400°F.
Remove one piece of dough from the refrigerator and place it on a floured work surface. Roll it into a circle that’s about 1/8” thick and use a 2 1/4” round cutter to cut out 14 to 16 circles from the dough, rerolling the scraps as necessary.
Repeat with the second piece of dough, this time using a 2 1/2” round cutter to cut out the same number of circles.
Place the smaller circles on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet and brush a light coating of egg wash onto the surface of each.
Sprinkle or spoon your chosen filling combinations into the center of each circle then place a larger circle on top, pressing around the perimeter with your finger to seal each tart.
Transfer each dough circle to a muffin cup, gently pressing it into the bottom and onto the sides.
Bake the tarts for 14 to 16 minutes, or until they're golden brown.
Remove the tarts from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool.
Storage information: Store cooled tarts at room temperature for a day or two, or freeze for up to one month. Tarts can be rewarmed in a 250°F oven.
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