These raw walnut and pecan tartlets are filled with an almond butter or chocolate filling for an easy, no bake guiltless treat!
Tartlet. Funny word, isn’t it? I just want to keep saying it over and over and over…
Ok, we’ll get to those. Story time first.
Saturday we went out to dinner with my parents. No special occasion, just a much needed night out of the house for me with an equally as much needed bottle of wine. And guess where the conversation somehow headed about 15 minutes into the night?
Kids.
This is nothing new. I hear it from every angle in my life and my parents (read: my mom) are one of the more frequent sources. Apparently, whatever biological clock I was supposed to have in this area of life skipped me but more than made up for it in my mom’s desire for grandchildren.
“Oh, but you don’t realize how much you’ll love them until they’re here.”
“The not-sleeping thing is only temporary.”
“You’re going to be so lonely when you’re older.’
“It’s the biggest joy you can ever imagine.”
I could probably fill a book with the reasons people state for having kids.
And you know what, I believe them all. I bet it is the best damn joy in your life. Really, I do. I feel that way about my freakin’ dog so I can only imagine how a kid would make me feel. And I do realize the sleep thing is probably at most a year. And yes, I think your kids are cute and sometimes I get a fleeting moment of “aw” when I’m holding them.
But you want to know what else?
I can find plenty of other joys that aren’t going to plague me with constant worry for the rest of my life, cost me hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars or eat up every last second of my time and attention for the best years of my life. I’m not too keen on waiting until 60 when the kids are finally grown up and out of the house to do those bucket list things. Also, you should see me after one night of interrupted sleep from my dog let alone months on end of midnight feedings. I’m quite confident I’d be institutionalized by week 2.
The kid convo dragged along until the food came and then we all shut up as coconut curry mussels, coq au vin and burgers made their way into our mouths.
Fast forward to yesterday and there I am about 15 minutes into carefully running a knife around these mini-muffin cups trying to pop out these tartlets while keeping them intact and I get a text from my mom.
“Sorry about the baby talk last night.”
I put the knife down and respond, “It doesn’t bother me. It’s not like it remotely changes my mind.”
Because when it comes down to it, I’d rather spend an inordinate amount of my Sunday afternoon tending to tartlets than to children. Especially almond and coconut butter and chocolate filled ones.
Raw Walnut Pecan Tartlets: 2 Ways
Ingredients
For the Tartlet Shell
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup pecans
- 2-3 medjool dates, start with 2, see directions for explanation
Almond & Coconut Butter Filling
- 2 tablespoons creamy almond butter
- 1 tablespoon coconut butter
For the Chocolate Filling
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Place tartlet shell ingredients in a food processor starting with 2 dates and process until a fine crumble results. If you can pinch together the mixture and it holds then transfer to a bowl. If not, add another 1/2-1 date and process again until the mixture is sticky enough to form a crust.
- Grease a mini-muffin pan with coconut oil.
- Place a spoonful of the nut mixture into the muffin tin and press down with your fingers and up along the sides of the tin. You want the sides to be pretty thick so that they don't crumble when you remove the tarts.
- Fill remaining tins the same way.
- Place pan in the freezer for about 30 minutes until the shells harden.
- Remove the pan from the freezer and carefully remove tartlets using a knife to loosen around the edges. You may have to reinforce with your fingers once they're out if portions collapsed. They won't come out easily, but I did it with some patience and caution.
- In a small bowl combine your filling ingredients and microwave until softened. Use a spoon to combine and then fill the tartlet shells.
- You can eat them as is or return to the freezer to harden.
- Keep refrigerated or frozen.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
They’re gorgeous!!! Totally pinning!
WANT THESE! They look so, so delicious.
These look delicious!
Not everyone is meant to have kids. I don’t blame you. But I do think it’s awful people try to force the idea and nag about having kids.
My husband and I are the exact same way. We enjoy each other’s company and the things we get to do together. While, yes, having a child probably is the most rewarding thing a couple can do (most couples, anyway), that still doesn’t mean it’s for everybody. I love to take care of others — but I also love to take care of myself. So, yeah, no kids for me.
I saw the evolution of these beauties on Instagram and was jealous I didn’t live closer to you. Not to sound like a total creeper. I keep getting the baby talk from my parents too. I keep reminding them they have a daughter 4 years older than I am, married for longer than I am now, and should probably have them first because I may never have them. Same as you, I have nothing against kids, but I’d rather do the things I’m doing now than have to worry about a kid for the next 20 years. I’d probably go insane three days in.
These look awesome! I really need to get a mini muffin pan.
At least if there arent any grandchildren, I should have a delivery of everything yummy from your site as a consolation!! :) PS. you slept through the nite at 2.5mos and slept so much during the day I had to wake you up to feed or bathe you ;)
funny how you don’t mention Adrian and his sleeping habits. terror child ;)
but how the roles have reversed ,who is the pain in the ass child now???and yes he stopped after 5 months,and we survived(imagine that)Luv Ya.
YES. Court & I aren’t having kids either – we decided this before we got married, then waited 2 yrs to neuter Court *just* to be sure. When convos turn towards kids now, instead of our friends/family looking at us like we have two heads & having to explain WHY we’re CHOOSING to not have them, we just shut it down with a simple, “we cant have kids”. Hahaha works like a charm! Luckily, my family has always supported our decision, but Courts parents are still mad at us. They think we’re being selfish, but then I remind them that we just channel that nurturing instinct differently – into our home, garden, pets, food, etc. :D
Gina; looks like another winning recipe. These will be perfect for Valentines Day, thank you. And i totally and whole-heartedly agree with you on the kids thing. I have the same convo with my Mum every month or so :)