Description
These Halloween Jack Skellington Ricotta Olive Tarts are a spooky and delicious gluten-free treat perfect for the season. Featuring a crisp, gluten-free tart crust filled with a creamy ricotta and yogurt mixture, and decorated with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and parmesan cheese to create Jack Skellington’s iconic face, these tarts are both festive and flavorful. Perfect for a Halloween party appetizer or a fun snack.
Ingredients
Scale
Gluten-Free Tart Crust
- ½ cup sweet rice flour
- ¼ cup millet flour
- ⅓ cup gluten-free oat flour
- 3 tablespoons tapioca flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
- 5-7 tablespoons ice water
Filling and Toppings
- 1 can black olives
- 3-4 tablespoons julienned sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
- 2-3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1½ cups ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 3 egg whites
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Make the crust dough: Whisk together sweet rice flour, millet flour, oat flour, tapioca starch, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and use your hands to break it up until pieces are about pea-sized. Gradually add ice water one tablespoon at a time, mixing until the dough holds together when pinched.
- Chill the dough: Divide dough into 6 to 8 pieces, roll each into a ball, flatten into discs, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven: Set your oven to 400ºF (200ºC).
- Roll out the crust: Roll each dough disc between two sheets of parchment or wax paper sprinkled with millet flour into circles 1 inch larger than the tart pans.
- Fit dough into tart pans: Peel off one parchment sheet and flip the crust into the tart pan with parchment side up. Remove the second piece of parchment paper and press the dough into the pan evenly. Repeat for each tart shell. Work in batches if necessary.
- Prepare olives for decoration: Thinly slice 6 black olives lengthwise into paper-thin strips for the mouth, then cut 12-14 small ovals for the nose. Set aside.
- Assemble base tart toppings and pre-bake: Chop 3-4 tablespoons of black olives and distribute among the tarts. Top each with 3-5 strips of julienned sun-dried tomatoes, sprinkle about ¼ teaspoon thyme leaves, and divide grated parmesan evenly. Bake tarts for 12 minutes until crust is lightly cooked.
- Mix the ricotta filling: While tarts bake, whisk ricotta, Greek yogurt, egg whites, minced garlic, and salt together until smooth.
- Add filling and decorate: Remove pre-baked tart shells from oven and fill each to the top with the ricotta mixture. Place two whole black olives for eyes and two small olive ovals for the nose on each tart. Create a criss-cross mouth with thin olive strips, using chopsticks or a tool for precision.
- Bake the filled tarts: Bake for 20-25 minutes until the ricotta filling is set. Check starting at 15 minutes depending on tart size. Serve warm.
- Reheating: To reheat, place tarts in a 400ºF oven for 7 minutes until warm.
Notes
- Use chilled butter and ice water to ensure a flaky crust.
- Gluten-free oat flour can be made by grinding rolled oats in a food processor.
- Decorative olive placement can be done using chopsticks for better control.
- Check the ricotta filling at 15 minutes to avoid overbaking as tart size varies.
- Sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil add flavor and moisture; drain if necessary to avoid soggy crust.
- Leftover tarts can be refrigerated and reheated as instructed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tart
- Calories: 210 kcal
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 320 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
