Cheesecake bites are delicious, individual-sized desserts for parties and gatherings. However, they are packed with fat and sugar. These Fruity Fro-Yo Mini Tarts are a healthier version that are actually easier to make.
Fruity Fro-Yo Mini Tart Nutrition
Fruity Fro-Yo Mini Tarts are made with a Greek yogurt filling sweetened only by fruit. The filling sits atop a Graham cracker crust. Unlike most Graham cracker crusts, this recipe uses Canola oil instead of butter to significantly reduce the saturated fat content.
It relies completely on the sugar already in the Graham crackers, so the bites have no additional sugar (unlike most other recipes for Graham cracker crusts) and are a good snack for people watching their sugar intake. Each bite has only about 1.5g of added sugar from the Graham crackers.
Flavoring the Fro-Yo Mini Tarts
The tarts in this recipe blend strawberries and cherries, however, any fresh or frozen fruit can be used. A single fruit can be blended with the yogurt, or a mix of several fruits can be experimented with to create a combo flavor.
For a sweeter flavor, strawberries, mango, watermelon, and bananas are recommended. For a more tart taste, try raspberries, blackberries, ollalieberries, or boysenberries.
Fruits like blueberries, cantaloupe, kiwi, and apple may not provide enough sweetness or flavor on their own, so try mixing them with other fruits. Lemons and limes may be too acidic in the yogurt without the addition of a sweetener.
Allergy Information
For those avoiding gluten or wheat, use a gluten-free Graham cracker. Schar makes a good quality gluten-free honeygram cracker, as does Pamela's.
For those with lactose intolerance, consider whether you can handle yogurt; many people can since most lactose is converted to lactic acid by the bacterial cultures in yogurt. If you have a milk allergy, you can try using a non-dairy yogurt such as one made with cashews or coconut.
If soy or egg allergies are a concern, check the Graham cracker ingredients before proceeding. Schar’s, Keebler’s and Nabisco’s contain soy, but not egg.
There is no sesame, fish, shellfish, peanut, nor tree nuts in this recipe.
Fruity Fro-Yo Mini Tarts Recipe
Yield: 12 mini tarts
Prep Time: 20 mins. Cook Time: 10 mins. Freeze Time: 2.5 hours Total Time: 3 hours
Ingredients
For the crust:
1 cup Graham cracker crumbs
½ cup Canola oil
For the filling:
1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
½ cup fresh or frozen pitted cherries
24 small blueberries for garnish
Directions
Preheat over to 325°F and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cups.
If using Graham crackers instead of crumbs, pulverize in a food processor until ground to fine crumbs. Dump in a medium-sized bowl.
Add canola oil to the Graham cracker crumbs and mix with a rubber spatula until mixture is moist.
Place 1-2 large spoonfuls of the moistened Graham cracker crumbs in each muffin cup. Use a 1/3 dry measuring cup to press the mixture down so the top is flat.
Bake the Graham cracker crusts for 8-10 minutes. Let cool before adding the filling.
While the crusts bake, make the filling by pouring yogurt, strawberries, and cherries in a blender and blending until completely smooth and pink.
Wash the blueberries and set aside.
Once the crusts are cool, pour the yogurt filling into each muffin cup about three-quarters of the way full.
Freeze the tarts for 30 minutes and then press 2 blueberries into the top of each for garnish.
Continue freezing for at least 2 hours more.
Remove from the freezer and place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before serving. (They will be too frozen to bite into if served too soon, but melt if they sit in the refrigerator for more than 4 hours.)
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