Description

Halloween Jack Skellington Ricotta Olive Tarts are delightful gluten-free mini tartlets with a creamy ricotta filling and spooky olive decorations, perfect for festive gatherings or themed parties. The crust is made from a blend of gluten-free flours, providing a crisp base, while the filling combines ricotta, greek yogurt, and aromatic herbs for a rich bite.

Ingredients

Scale

Gluten-Free Tart Crust

½ cup sweet rice flour
¼ cup millet flour
⅓ cup gluten-free oat flour
3 tablespoons tapioca flour
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
7 tablespoons ice water

Filling and Toppings

1 can black olives
4 tablespoons julienned sun-dried tomatoes, from a jar packed in oil
3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
1½ cups ricotta cheese
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons greek yogurt
3 egg whites
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon kosher salt

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Instructions

Make the crust dough: Whisk together the sweet rice flour, millet flour, oat flour, tapioca flour, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter pieces and mix with your hands until the largest butter pieces are pea-sized. Gradually add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time, combining each addition until the dough holds together when pinched.
Chill the dough: Divide the dough into 6-8 pieces depending on tart size. Roll each piece into a ball, flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat and roll out dough: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Roll out each dough disc between two sheets of parchment or wax paper, sprinkled lightly with millet flour, into a circle about 1 inch larger than your mini tart pans.
Form tart shells: Remove one piece of parchment and flip the crust into the tart pan with parchment side up. Remove the second piece of parchment and press dough into the pan carefully. Repeat for all tart shells, working in batches if needed.
Prepare olive decorations: Thinly slice 6 black olives into paper-thin strips for the mouth, and cut 12-14 small ovals for the noses. Set aside.
Assemble base toppings: Chop 3-4 tablespoons of black olives and evenly distribute among the tart shells. Place 3-5 strips of julienned sun-dried tomatoes on each tart, sprinkle about ¼ teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, and evenly divide the grated parmesan cheese over the tarts.
Bake tart shells: Bake the assembled tart shells for 12 minutes until the crust is lightly cooked.
Prepare ricotta filling: While crusts bake, whisk together ricotta cheese, greek yogurt, egg whites, minced garlic, and salt until smooth and combined.
Fill and decorate tarts: Remove crusts from oven and divide the ricotta filling among each tart, filling them to the top. Place two whole black olives for the eyes and two small olive ovals for the nose on each tart. Create a criss-cross mouth using the thin olive strips, using chopsticks for precision.
Bake completed tarts: Bake for 25 minutes, checking at 15 minutes for doneness. The ricotta filling should be set but not browned. Remove from oven and serve warm.
Reheat instructions: To reheat, bake the tarts at 400°F for 7 minutes until warmed through.

Notes

Make your own gluten-free oat flour by grinding whole oats in a food processor for best texture.
If you don’t have millet flour, you can substitute with extra sweet rice flour or another gluten-free flour.
Use cold butter pieces to get a flaky crust texture.
Work quickly when handling butter and dough to keep butter cold and prevent melting.
The filled tarts can be baked in batches if your tart pans do not all fit in the oven at once.
Use chopsticks to delicately place olive decorations without breaking them.
Leftover tarts can be stored covered in the refrigerator and reheated before serving.
This recipe can be doubled to serve larger crowds.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 tart
Calories: 210 kcal
Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 350 mg
Fat: 15 g
Saturated Fat: 7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 12 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 7 g
Cholesterol: 40 mg