Sweet 16th: Coconut Lime Tarts

Hey all! 

So I've been on a lemon bar kick the last couple of weeks but I wanted to try something a little bit different while still keeping the simplicity and perfect springy-ness of the lemon bar.  Thus Coconut Lime Tarts!  I will freely admit to singing "Put the Lime in the Coconut" pretty much the whole time these were in process.

So, here they are:

These were fun and fairly simple to make.  I do not have a tart pan or a mini muffin pan but these would work fine in either.  Instead I just used my regular muffin pan and didn't have any problems with a single one of the tarts.  The crust is so buttery that there is no need for liners or greasing the pan. 

For the Crust you need:

1 stick butter at room temp or softened (When I say butter I actually mean this because I'm trying to be   dairy free for a while.)
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
pinch of salt

Mix this all together in a bowl with a fork until a coarse crumb consistency is achieved.

Scoop 2-3 Tablespoons flour mixture into each cup of a muffin tin and smush it down with your fingers making the crust come up higher around the edges.

Bake these for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees until the edges are just turning golden.  While the crusts are baking, mix up the filling.

For the filling you need:

1 egg at room temp
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want or if your limes are extra tart)
1 Tablespoon flour
zest from 1-2 limes
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 Tablespoon dried coconut cream powder

Ok, I cheated here, clearly those limes have not been zested :)

Zest a lime or two into a bowl.  Mix all the other ingredients in and whisk like crazy!

In case you're wondering about that coconut powder, here's what I used:

There are several brands and you can find it online and at most Asian food markets.

Anyways,  once all the things are mixed up you may notice that it is not a very pretty color:

Blah,  I think food should be pretty!  And it is St. Patrick's day tomorrow so throw in some green food coloring!

Better!

Now spoon the filling into the centers of the crusts.  I found that 1 Tablespoon per crust was perfect. 

Put them back in the oven (still at 350) for another 10 minutes.  The centers should be fully set when you take them out.

Little man didn't want his picture taken this time but his 'guys' did so:

Stormtrooper approved?

Happy Baking!