These tart shells are so cute and so full of possibilities! They can be filled with just about anything, and on their own they sort of taste like fortune cookies or waffle cones, but not quite as sweet. I snacked on a bunch of them while I was testing this recipe.

If you’re making mini-tarts for a party or celebration, I would the make a couple different pie fillings ahead of time, and then bake up a bunch of these tart shells the day I want to serve them. They have a crisper texture than normal pie shells, and I would fill them right before serving, as if the wet filling is in them too long then the bottoms of the tart shells can soften a bit and lose their crunch.

You can also set out bowls with a few different pie filling options like apple, pumpkin, pecan, or even a chocolate peppermint filling and people can top the tart shells with their filling of choice.

I used a normal sized muffin tin (not a mini muffin tin). If you have to make them ahead of time, store them in an airtight container so that they retain most of their crunchiness.

Mini Pie Crusts

Makes 12 Tart shells.

Ingredients

6-8 tbsp. water

1 level tsp. psyllium husk powder*

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil

3 tbsp. maple syrup

1 cup of oat flour + 2 tbsp.**

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375.

2. Grease and flour the muffin tin with olive oil and oat flour.

3. Stir together 6 tbsp of water with the psyllium husk powder. It will gel up quickly, and try to smush out as many lumps as you can. Let it sit for 5 minutes, and then stir in the vanilla, olive oil and maple syrup until well combined. Add in the oat flour and knead until a smooth dough forms.

If the dough is too sticky, let it sit for a minute. If the dough is still sticky, add a little oat flour and knead it through.

If the dough is too dry, add 1 tbsp. or water and knead it through. The dough should have the consistency of a soft sugar cookie dough and shouldn’t crack or break apart at all when you press on it.

4. Cut the top and sides off of a gallon size Ziploc back so that you have a large rectangle of plastic when you unfold it. Dip a paper towel in a little bit of olive oil and oil the inside of the plastic.

5. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Take one portion of the dough and roll it out between the two layers or oiled plastic until it’s just slightly thinner than 1/8 of an inch thick. Use a 3.5 inch wide round cookie cutter (I used the band off the top of wide mouth mason jar for this), to cut rounds out of the dough.

Peel the scrap dough away from the rounds. Peel the rounds away from the plastic and press them gently into the muffin pan. Repeat until you have 12 little tart shells ready to bake.

6. Prick the bottom of each tart shell with a fork 2-3 times, and bake the tart shells for 20-25 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Let them cool in the pan, then use a butter knife to pop them out of the muffin tin.

Fill with your favorite pie filling, add a dollop of cashew whipped cream if desired, and serve immediately.

Notes – *Psyllium husk powder gels like nothing else, and there’s no great substitute for it. I found mine in the bulk spice section of the local Fred Meyer, but Whole Foods, Trader Joes have been known to carry it as well. If it’s not in the natural foods, or bulk spice section, check the dietary supplement/ digestive health (where the Metamucil is) section of the store or pharmacy as it’s sometimes sold there as well.

** I grind oats into oat flour using a blender. Don’t grind the oats in a food processor because the flour won’t be fine enough.

Any extra oat flour I don’t use in the recipe goes into an airtight container and I use it for another recipe.