Boyfriend has a really annoying tendency to harass me just when I’m starting to settle in for the night for “treats”. First, he asks if we have any treats. Usually the answer is no, since I try not to keep to much junk food lying around. Then he suggests that we go to the store. Usually I say no to this as well, because I’m already in my sweats and ready for him to get outta here so I can sleep. Then he claims he will make a treat, but doesn’t really, and sometimes manages to guilt me into doing it.

This happened one day last week, a day that I had already baked German pancakes and banana oatmeal cookies in addition to dinner, lemon crock pot chicken. Unfortunately I had taken the cookies to work, leaving no treats in the apartment, and I was a bit too tired to cook even more. But he was relentless, so I opened up the fridge to see what I could whip up nice ‘n’ quick. I found expiring heavy whipping cream, lemon juice, and puff pastry.

I’d like to apologize for the awful lighting in some of these pictures. I’ve been trying to do better about photographing during the day, as my kitchen light seems to turn all photos yellow.

I started by making a quick lemon curd. Do this by combining the eggs, lemon zest, sugar, lemon juice, and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium low heat until it’s thickened.

Then I cut the puff pastry into nine squares. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and arrange the puff pastry squares inside the tin.

Pour the a bit of lemon curd into puff pastry square and pinch together tops as best you can. They can be a bit open.

Cook at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes, or until edges of pastry are golden brown. While they were cooking, I made whipped cream by beating the heavy whipping cream and sugar on high speed for a few minutes.

Ta da! These were quick and easy, and delightfully tasty! I may have had one (or two) myself!

Blueberries or strawberries may be a nice addition to the filling. Perhaps I’ll give that a try next time!

Lemon Tartlets
9 Servings (double for a crowd)

Ingredients
Lemon Curd:
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup butter
lemon zest from 1-2 of the lemons

1 sheet of puff pastry

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small saucepan over medium low heat, combine all ingredients for lemon curd. Cook, stirring constantly, for about five minutes or until thickened. Set aside. Cut puff pastry sheet into nine even sized squares. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and arrange puff pastry squares into a cup shape in each tin. Pour lemon curd into the puff pastry squares about half full and pinch tops of squares together. Bake in preheated oven for about 12 minutes, or until edges of puff pastry are golden brown. Top with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.