Summer time, summer time! The days are long, the grill is up and running, my summer tan is in full swing, and the Fourth of July is upon us! I don’t know about you all, but for me the Fourth always symbolizes the heart of summer! Its right in the middle of summer vacation when you have all the summer feels going on! We’ve been prepping in our house for the big day. I have GIANT box of decorations sitting in my foyer just waiting to be used for bike decorating for our Fourth of July parade. I’m certain that NO ONE is going to out decorate us this year 😉
This week, I’ve put together these fun berry tarts that are the perfect addition to any July Fourth menu! And the best part is that they are SO easy to make. Truth is, I don’t cook all that often. In fact, when I told my husband I was putting together a recipe to share with you all, he literally laughed at me. But I do really enjoy cooking when I have the time to plan something out and spend the time doing it. So basically…. I don’t cook often, but when I do, I put my whole heart into it!
I just loved how simple and clean this recipe is…. I’m talking throw in a few ingredients, whip them up, add your berries, and you’re in business. I originally found this recipe in an old Southern Living magazine I had laying around (I knew there was a reason I was hoarding these old magazines….), but I simplified it so that busy gals like us didn’t have to commit to hours in the kitchen!
Start out by baking the frozen mini tarts as instructed. Then combine all the wet ingredients and zest the lemons. Next step, fill your tarts and sprinkle with delicious berries! You could very well do a homemade tart if you wanted to, but for timing and the purpose of simplifying, I just went with the frozen shells. Also, this is something that you can easily make the day before and just chill the tart filling until you are ready to serve. Or you can go ahead and fill your tarts and chill them once they are put together. I suggest throwing the berries on last minute!
For something so simple, these are seriously so delicious! My kids loved helping top these…. and ate half the berries in the process! My husband basically compared them to mini key lime pies…. except with lemons! I also have to confess that once the tarts were filled there was a lot of left over filling that was consumed by all parties… YUM!
I hope that you all enjoy these as much as our family did! We are looking forward to an eventful Fourth of July next week and can’t wait to share it with you soon!
Happy Fourth of July, friends!!
- Filing:
- 1 (8-oz) packaged cream cheese, softened
- 2 tsp. lemon zest plus 1 Tbsp. fresh juice (1 lemon)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
- 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 12 count package of frozen pastry cups
- Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and ½ cup granulated sugar, and beat until well blended.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until incorporated.
- Place mixture in the refrigerator and cool 4 to 24 hours.
- Toss together sliced strawberries with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and let sit 15 mins or more.
- Bake the pastry cups are directed on packaging.
- Fill pastry cups to cream cheese filing prior to serving.
- Top with sliced strawberries and blueberries and serve.