S’mores are great, there’s no doubt about it. Melted marshmallows and creamy chocolate sandwiched between graham wafers will always be a hit—fun to make and deliciously messy. But sometimes you want to mix it up a little on your canoe or car-camping trip, or even after a backyard barbecue.
Here’s an idea: bake some simple, sturdy tart shells and provide ready-made fillings that people can combine in any way they like. How about lemon curd topped with a dollop of raspberry jam, or chocolate ganache and peanut butter; or Greek yogurt, lemon curd and blackcurrant jam?
If you run out of time to make tart shells, make cookies instead. It’s as much fun to pile fillings on a flat platform as it is to spoon them into a shell. Well, almost as much fun. In my experience, the mini-tart shells are the best sellers.
Raid your fridge for anything that might work as a filling—leftover Jell-O or chocolate pudding, whipped cream, custard and any jams or jellies popular amongst your crowd. Pack the fillings in the bottom of the cooler and use the most perishable ones first. Peanut butter, jam and chocolate ganache will last the longest, and even with those three fillings, there are six possible combos.
When you’re ready for dessert, lay everything out on the table, on top of the cooler or on an upturned canoe, and invite your customers to dig in. Hold competitions for the best concoctions. Invite guests to make one for each other. And then pack everything away until tomorrow, when new winning combinations will emerge and legends will be born.
Scottish Shortbread Cookies or Tart Shells
Ingredients
- Scottish Shortbread Cookies or Tart Shells
- Ingredients
- 1 cup (8 oz) butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Lemon Curd
- Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp finely grated fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 6 Tbsp (3 oz) unsalted butter, diced
- Chocolate Ganache
- Ingredients
- 5 oz dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
- 1 cup 35% cream
- 3 Tbsp butter
Instructions
Scottish Shortbread Cookies or Tart Shells
- Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat for another couple of minutes. Stir in flour until thoroughly combined. Transfer dough to a counter dusted with flour, and press into a disc.
- For cookies, divide dough in two and shape into two rectangular logs. Wrap and refrigerate for 60 minutes. Slice into 1/2-inch slices. Bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for 15 to 18 minutes at 325℉. Alternatively, roll out dough until 1/4-inch thick and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter.
- For mini tarts, form dough into 24 balls of about 1 1/2 teaspoons in size, and place one in the center of each cup in a mini muffin tin. Press dough firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of each cup—use the rounded end of a pestle to help with this task.
- For larger tarts, form balls of about 2 tablespoons in size and place in the center of each cup in a standard-sized muffin tin. Use a quarter-cup measuring cup dusted in flour to help press the dough evenly up the sides of the cups. Finish off the edges by tamping down with your fingers and thumb.
- Prick base of dough with a fork and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400℉. Bake shells for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Remove from heat. If the tart bottoms have puffed up, tamp down briefly with the floured end of a pestle.
- Allow tart shells to cool for 10 minutes on a rack before removing them, and let cool completely before packing into a sturdy container.
Makes 15 muffin-sized shells, 40 mini-shells or about 36 cookies
Lemon Curd
- Whisk together juice, zest, sugar and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and then set over medium-low heat.
- Once the mixture has heated up for a couple of minutes, add the butter in batches, whisking constantly until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and the first bubble appears on the surface, about 6 minutes. *If curd begins to curdle, remove from heat and whisk vigorously, adding any remaining butter off the heat.
- Once thickened, remove curd from heat, pour through a sieve into a bowl and stir in lemon zest. Cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally to speed the cooling process.
- Cover and chill until cold, about two hours. Will keep, refrigerated, for about one week.
Makes about 1 1/3 cups
Chocolate Ganache
- Break chocolate into a heat-proof bowl. Combine butter and cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to boil, watching carefully so it doesn’t boil over.
- Pour mixture over the chocolate, and cover with a plate. Leave for 5 minutes, then whisk vigorously to combine. Scrape into a container and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to use—ganache will stiffen as it cools, making it easy to spread on cookies or spoon into tart shells. Will keep, refrigerated, for up to two weeks.
Makes about 2 cups
