Associated with spring and named after the pale-green hue of the famous pie, our version transforms the familiar mint-chocolate taste the dessert is known for and presents it in beautiful bite-size tartlets that are apropos for an elegant affair.
Grasshopper Mini Tartlets
Serves: 20
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1⁄4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons cold heavy whipping cream
- 1⁄4 teaspoon mint extract
- 1⁄16 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Green liquid food coloring
- 20 mini tartlet shells*
- 2 tablespoons finely ground chocolate wafer cookies (approximately 4 cookies)
- Dark Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)
- Garnish: chopped crème de menthe candies and edible shamrocks**
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, whipping cream, mint extract, and vanilla extract with a mixer at high speed until combined. Beat in one drop of food coloring at a time until desired green hue is achieved, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer mixture to a covered container and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.
- Arrange tartlet shells on a rimmed tray. Place 1⁄4 teaspoon cookie crumbs into each tartlet shell. Fill shells with warm Dark Chocolate Ganache, covering cookie crumb layer. Refrigerate until ganache becomes firm, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Transfer cold cream cheese mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large open-star tip (Wilton #1M). Pipe a ruffled star on top of each tartlet.
- Garnish with chopped candies, if desired. Serve immediately, or place in a covered container, refrigerate, and serve within 4 hours. Just before serving, garnish with shamrocks, if desired.
Notes
*We used Sable & Rosenfeld 1 3⁄4-inch tart shells, available at Fresh Market and other specialty grocery stores.
**We used Gourmet Sweet Botanicals, available at 800-931-7530, gourmetsweetbotanicals.com.
Kitchen Tip: Ganache should be cool enough to handle but still pourable so it will settle into a level surface in shell. For ease of filling shells with ganache, place ganache in a piping bag and cut off just the tip of bag.
**We used Gourmet Sweet Botanicals, available at 800-931-7530, gourmetsweetbotanicals.com.
Kitchen Tip: Ganache should be cool enough to handle but still pourable so it will settle into a level surface in shell. For ease of filling shells with ganache, place ganache in a piping bag and cut off just the tip of bag.
Dark Chocolate Ganache
Serves: approximately 1⁄2 cup
Ingredients
- 1⁄4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1⁄4 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a small heatproof bowl, place chocolate chips.
- In a small saucepan, heat cream over medium-high heat until cream is very hot, bubbles appear around edges of pan, and cream is steaming. Pour hot cream over chocolate chips. Let sit for 1 minute for chocolate to melt. Stir until creamy. Let cool just enough to fill a piping bag but remain pourable.
