Sweet and savory, tangy, salty. Mouth watering yet? These gluten-free tartlettes with brie and date are one of the most popular appetizers at my parties. But it’s funny, I get side-long glances from people when they hear what’s in these small bites. And then they taste them . . . and the plate is usually empty in seconds.
Tartlette Ingredients
Tartlette Shells – For a quick and easy tartlette shell use gluten-free tortillas. Siete Foods cassava tortillas, Rudis and BFree are good for this recipe. Brown rice wraps/tortillas do not work well because they are much too brittle.
But, my preference is to make my gluten-free crepes for the shell. It’s a little more work but I think it’s worth the effort. Here is my post on gluten-free crepes that has excellent step-by-step instructions on making gluten-free crepes. It’s way easier than you may think. I make them a day or two ahead to make it quicker on the day of.
If you make the gluten-free crepes ahead of time, cut out the circles needed for the tartlette shells. They do very well in the refrigerator for a week or for several months in the freezer. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then put into a zip top bag. They will stick together when cold so warm the stack briefly (in the microwave works well) to make separating them more easy.
Dates – You may not be a fan of dates but this is no ordinary date filling. The dates are simmered with cinnamon, orange juice and red wine until they are melting. The tangy orange and red wine are perfect for taming the super sweet dates.
Make Ahead
These gluten-free tartlettes with brie and dates can be assembled completely and be refrigerated or frozen (unbaked). Refrigerate for a week or for several months frozen. I just wrap the tartlettes in the mini muffin tin tightly in 2 layers of plastic wrap. Thaw and then bake as directed in the recipe.
Gluten-Free Tartlettes with Brie and Dates
These gluten free tartlettes are filled with a sweet date paste and tangy brie and make a perfect appetizer with red wine.
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Crepes (tartlette shell) or use gluten-free tortillas*
- 1/2 c milk (milk substitutes are fine)
- a pinch of salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 c gluten-free flour blend*
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Tartlette Filling
- 4 oz wedge of brie
- 6 large or 8 small pitted dates
- 2 Tbsps orange juice
- 1/4 c red wine
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pine nuts
Instructions
Make the filling
- Roughly chop the dates.
- Place the dates, orange juice, cinnamon and salt into a small (non-stick preferred) pan over medium heat. Stir often.
- When the dates become very soft and start to melt turn up the flame to high and add the wine. Let it simmer until most of the liquid is evaporated.
- Remove the pan from the heat and use a wooden or plastic spoon to smash the dates. Set aside to cool. This will allow the mixture to thicken.
Make the crepes for the tartlette shells (or skip this and use tortillas)
- Put the eggs and milk in a blender and blend for a few seconds. Add the dry ingredients and blend for 10 seconds.
- Drizzle in the butter with the blender on low. Cover the blender and blend on medium a few seconds more.
- Heat a non-stick skillet over a high flame for 1-2 minutes. Brush very lightly with butter and turn the the heat to medium-high
- Swirl and gently shake the skillet as you pour in the batter to spread it evenly. Use 1/4 c batter for a 10-12" skillet and 2 Tbsps for an 8" skillet. It should be a thin coating of batter. If you put in too much batter simply pour it out.
- Once the crepe is set, flip it over and cook another 10 seconds. Do not brown it since it will cook more in the oven.
- Transfer to a plate and cover. Continue this process and stack the crepes on the plate keeping covered. The crepes will not stick together (unless you refrigerate them).
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°
Assemble the Tartlettes
- Cut the brie into approximately 1" inch pieces.
- Ideally the crepes (or tortillas) should be cut to 2½ ″-3" circles. Use a biscuit cutter or the mouth of a glass. If using tortillas, heat them in the microwave for 7-8 seconds to make them a bit more pliable and cut out just like the crepes.
- Spray the muffin tins with canola or baking spray. Reheat the cut circles in the microwave for a few seconds if they have cooled. Cover the warmed circles with a towel while you work.
- Take one circle and push it into a well of the muffin tin. No need to worry if it cracks a little bit.
- Spoon in about 1 teaspoon of the date mixture, add a piece of brie and top with about 1 tsp chopped walnuts.
Bake the tartlettes
Bake for 10 minutes and serve immediately.
Notes
*Siete or Rudi's gluten-free tortillas or BFree wraps work well for the tartlette shells. Brown rice wraps do not work well as they are too brittle.
*It is recommended that you use a gluten-free flour blend without xanthan gum.
For an easy DIY gluten-free flour blend, combine:
2 c brown rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
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Nutrition Information
Yield 18 Serving Size 2 tartlettesAmount Per Serving Calories 151Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 37mgSodium 99mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 5g
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated using information from the Nutritionix database. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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