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.
YUM
love raw desserts!!! Lori and I look forward to enjoying them again soon!
Your posts are always so fun and interesting to read. I have two kids, but damn I hear you on the worrying…and mine are barely out of the crib much less socializing, running around with friends, or on the hunt for boys.
Your tartlets look delicious! I love the picture of the almond butter oozing out. :)
haha, yeah I think of the hell I put my parents through with boys from ages of 12-15 and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy!
A raw tartlet? So cool! These look delicious and perfect for sharing with my Valentine. Thanks, Gina!
These look amazing, I am definitely going to try and make them for my next big family get together.
On the subject of kids, I always wanted to have a ton, but Nick and I got married at 24, not too young, but definitely younger than the average, the fact that people immediately started asking (in a serious way, the joking from friends also w/o kids was fine) when. Almost 2 years after the birth of my son, I just don’t know that I am ready for more.
I am also not ready for the onslaught that I will get if I even utter those words to anyone in our family.
We got married when I was 24 too so the questions didn’t happen for a few years since my parents were of the mindset that I was way too young to get married in the first place. But 6 years later, they’re making up for lost time! I’ve never wanted kids even from a young age but everyone said my mind would change. I seriously started to believe it since I heard it so much, but if anything, my desire not to have them has gotten stronger with time. Especially as I see what all our friends’ lives have become with them. It’s exactly what they want and I’m happy for them, but it’s exactly what I don’t want.
I’m a new follower and am loving your blog so far. Great recipe and really refreshing to hear your POV on having children. I am not married but I currently feel the same way you do. Never know where life will take you and I’m glad I stumbled on your blog. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Cassie. Welcome :)
Oh dear Lord, these look so so so amazing! I am kind of enamored by the drippiness of the almond/coconut butter filled ones, but let’s be honest: I wouldn’t kick either one out of bed.
DITTO! The tartlets look lovely. Wish I could pin them to make on the weekend.
I know! Flickr is having some issues today and all my pictures are hosted with them. I installed the pinterest button (the stand alone one at the bottom of the post) temporarily b/c that one seems to still work. Sorry for the inconvenience!
These tartlets look amazing! Yum!
We recently chose to stick with one child, and it’s astounding how many people think you need to have at least 2 kids, no less. I’ve actually thought about telling people that we can’t, but that would be lame. I just hate how people assume you haven’t totally thought through your decision.
Also, I’m sure you’ll make an awesome auntie to friends & family:)
Yes, I’m happy we did it. My sweet Babycakes is the most amazing thing I’ve ever done / seen / witness on a daily basis… but DANG, it’s hard. And I’m only doing it once. And the sleep interruption lasts WAY more than a year. #sorrytoburstyourbubble I honestly think it’s harder to have kids after waiting so long (Dear Hubby and I were married 7 years before baby) — and it’s just that much more of a shock to your life because you like the things you like and the activities and the rhythm, and them BAM… no more normal life. And it’s a process to relearn how to incorporate SOME of the things you used to enjoy into this new life of yours. All that to say, wait until you’re ready. And if you’re never ready, don’t sweat it. It’s YOUR choice. Not anyone else’s.
Oh goodness, I thought I had settled on my Valentine’s Day treat but these look AMAZING! Maybe Valentine’s Day will move into the weekend! :-)
My parents stopped asking about kids when I hit my late 30’s. Now, in my mid-40’s I am having some doubts about my decision….but I also don’t want to be the old lady mom by getting into something now! ha ha! I’d be like 70 when the kid leaves home…no thanks! :-)
I tried pinning this recipe but for some reason it won’t let me pin the photos associated with the recipe? I’ll try again a bit later. :-)
Flickr is having some issues today with pinning images and all my pictures are hosted with them. I installed the pinterest button (the stand alone one at the bottom of the post) temporarily b/c that one seems to still work. Sorry for the inconvenience!
No worries – I want these in such a bad way, I’ll pin them when Flickr gets its act together. I check your site every day. :-)