YWPWT: Chocolate Tartlets

The Sugar:  They are tiny, darling, easy to make and a real knock-out to eat.  What's not to love?

The Snark:  They are tiny, darling, easy to make and about knocked me on my butt with how good they are.  Their size makes them good for portion control... right?  Right.  As in, I had a hard time controlling myself from eating everyone's portions.

The Spice:  I thought about various ways to try to dress these up, but frankly, there is a reason that the little black dress is a classic and I'm not one to mess with perfection.  These are simple and elegant in the very best of ways.

This month's You Want Pies With That? is all about the straw that could break the camel's back, I mean, if the camel knew that if someone put one more straw on his back that he would be a goner.  In words that actually make sense, it is about that pie or tart recipe that could make you break your New Year's Resolutions (if you made them - which I am doing the anti-resolution this year myself anyway, but the point is the same).  The genius's behind this theme are Nic of Bakeologie and Carrie of Cooking With Carrie.  My thanks go out to Susan for creating this fun group and for keeping it up, it has been crazy busy and I'm so glad to be able to work with her on this (and for the extension - though I am not happy it is because she isn't feeling well!!  Hope you are better by the time you read this, if not sooner, Sus!)  

By the way, if you have little kiddo's, don't miss Susan's shoe giveaway going on right now over at the always fun and fantastic (with the best reviews!) She's Becoming DoughMESStic.  They are just way too cute to resist!

It is all about that pie recipe that you couldn't resist, even in the face of best intentions.  As a matter of fact, there are still a couple of these darling little chocolate ganache filled tartlets sitting in my kitchen waiting to break me... I mean waiting to be eaten.

I have had Robert Linxe's Chocolate Tart recipe bookmarked over at Smitten Kitchen, well, ever since I found them.  Especially since the recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets book.  The thing about these little tarts is that it is so easy to make, and if you like chocolate at all then these could break you too.  Think, buttery cookie crust with just enough sweet and salty to balance out an extremely rich and smooth chocolate truffle filling.  It couldn't be any easier to make and definitely couldn't be any easier to enjoy. In my opinion, that makes these an ultimate guilty pleasure because there is so little effort and work involved for such wonderful results. 

Speaking of guilty pleasures, like dark chocolate, which as I mentioned above, is actually good for us with all those great antioxidants, I thought I would come clean on a few of my guilty pleasures.  Do I actually feel guilt about them?  No, not really.  I was told a few days ago that was a sign of maturity on my part, but frankly, I just don't worry too much about whether it is something silly or not.  I just enjoy what I can.  There is enough bad stuff in life to go around without sucking all the joy out of the things you enjoy in life.

So, confession time - my 'guilty' pleasures (besides the obvious sugar and chocolate addiction):

Romance/Suspense/Mystery Novels:  I am an avid reader, but I don't read biographies or things that will "make the world a better place".  I probably should, but when I read, I'm not ashamed to admit it is for an escape from reality.  I'm purely there for entertainment value.  I have enough reality in my life, I am fine with giving myself a break and trying to take a trip to somewhere else.  I'm not saying that all books are great, because they are not, but some consistent winners and my personal favorite are from Nora Roberts (and all her books as J.D. Robb too).  She is a fantastic writer and really knows how to make you feel involved in the lives of your characters and get to know and love them.

TV Melodramas:  Again, I'm looking for entertainment and that is fine by me.   My current favorites are Privileged, 90210 (don't ask me why?!), and Psych - which is just so fun and silly and hilarious and well written that I always laugh my head off, no matter how bad of a mood I'm in.  I didn't discover Psych until a couple of months ago and have been recording everyone to enjoy after the kids are asleep and I need a real break.  Privileged is also well written and very entertaining.  I think 90210 is more like the train wreck you just can't look away from, but I still watch anyway.  We also love NCIS, which is just a great show.  I don't get out much with two little kids anymore, so this is my grown-up entertainment.

So, what is my point?  Well, that I thoroughly enjoying snacking on a couple of these little darlings with their creamy truffle filling while enjoying a couple of those shows.  It was a great way to unwind after a frustrating day.

Just look at how creamy and glossy the warm ganache is before it sets up!  I could have just eaten them up like this, but actually, it is worth it to wait and let them set up.  I did at least make them small tartlets so that they were easier to give a few away - in theory anyway.