Simple Cooking

You can adjust the amount of sugar in this recipe to suit your preference; for unsweetened whipped cream, simply omit the sugar.

Chocolate wafers (or nearly any wafer cookie) make a delicious crumb crust, especially for cream pies.

Pastry cream is the classic filling for French fruit tarts; it can also be folded into other fillings, such as whipped cream or the rich ricotta custard in the Neapolitan Easter Pie on page 253. Like many other custards, it is thickened with eggs and cornstarch; the mixture must be brought to a full boil to activate the starch and set properly. We use a whole vanilla bean, but you can substitute vanilla extract in its place.

This crumbly cocoa-enriched shell is used to make the Chocolate-Caramel Cream Pie on page 116; it pairs nicely with other cream fillings as well.

Those new to working with pastry would do well to start with a cream cheese dough. The combination of butter and cream cheese produces a supple, forgiving dough that rolls out quickly and smoothly, thanks to the high moisture content of the cream cheese. It also has a tender crumb and a pleasingly tangy flavor that pairs well with sweet or savory fillings.

The crumbly texture of a graham cracker crust pairs best with creamy fillings; it is extremely easy to make—just combine cookie crumbs with melted butter and a small amount of sugar, press the mixture into a pie plate, and bake.

It’s not so important which vegetables you use in these colorful, nutritious tarts—rather, that there is a seasonal bounty. Here, eggplant, red onion, zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, kale, and red bell peppers fill cornmeal crusts, but you could easily use green beans, corn, or mushrooms. The crust is light and crisp, with less butter than many pastry doughs. To make free-form versions, spoon filling onto center of each dough round, and fold the edges inward. Serve each tartlet with a dollop of fresh ricotta cheese, if desired. Add a green salad to balance out a healthy lunch.

Combined with garlic, fresh chile, walnuts, olives, and Parmesan, the humble scallion is the basis for a delightfully earthy, toss-together topping for puff-pastry squares. As the tartlets bake, the scallions caramelize, turning golden, sweet, and intensely flavorful. Instead of individual tartlets, you can form the dough and filling into two large tarts: Roll out and cut pastry into two eight-inch squares, divide filling evenly between crusts, and bake thirty minutes.

For this woven pie-dough pattern, the spacing of the strips is varied to create a seemingly complex geometric design that is actually no more difficult than a basic lattice. Rum-poached pineapple pieces peek out from beneath the open-weave crust.

Handy no-fork treats win raves from kids for their lip-smacking taste; busy parents and other home cooks appreciate how easy they are to bake by the dozen. Once the dough is cut into rounds and pressed into mini-muffin cups, it is filled with a toss-together berry filling that becomes wonderfully jamlike during baking. Top each with a tiny dollop of whipped cream.

Let your imagination be your guide when forming these little tarts; giving each one a singular look enhances its appeal and creates an enticing display, but you can always replicate favorite patterns. Use aspic cutters (available at baking supply stores) or small cookie cutters to make designs, or cut strips of dough to form mini lattice tops. You may also want to vary the flavor—and color—of jam in the fillings.

Martha originally created this recipe for a boating picnic in Maine. The tartlets are filled with blueberries, both fresh and preserved. Almond flavors the sturdy crust and the cakelike batter for the filling. Use wild blueberries if you can find them; otherwise, cultivated berries will do—the smaller, the better.

Although countless theories exist to explain the name “chess pie,” not one is considered definitive. Whatever its origin, the pantry pie relies primarily on sugar, eggs, and butter for its deceptively complex filling. Here, the traditional dessert is reinterpreted as a more modern-looking tart. An easy crumb crust made from store-bought vanilla wafers replaces the standard rolled-out pie dough, and is baked in a fluted tart ring instead of a pie plate. In testing the recipe, our editors found that Nilla wafers worked better than other brands. The filling is thickened with fine cornmeal; during baking, it forms a thin crust on top, which, when sliced, reveals a creamy golden custard. This version just might become a classic in its own right.

Inspired by a beloved breakfast treat—yogurt parfait—this recipe borrows the main components (granola, yogurt, and fruit) and transforms them into a delicious dessert. The pie is not too sweet, but you can adjust it to your preference by drizzling as much honey as you like.