Lemon Gingerbread Tartlets

Just one more gingerbread dessert before the holidays are upon us…

No I’m not trying to make it summer by posting a light and lemony recipe (although if you think that would work then I’m all for it). Lemon has its place in the winter months as well: right next to gingerbread.

The first time I heard of this sweet + spiced + tart flavor medley I was a skeptical child. But I trusted my mom wouldn’t lie to me, and took a bite of gingerbread mini muffin glazed in sugary lemon glaze. It was a pretty memorable Christmas dessert moment. Gingerbread shot to the top of my favorite Christmas sweets list, easily surpassing sugar cookies and anything with candy cane crumbles on top (but I still love you Peppermint Cookiewiches).

I was expecting the gingerbread crust to be my favorite part of this little tart because I’m gingerbread obsessed. But I’ve gotta say the lemon pudding really blew me away. I love it when my recipes surprise even me!

Makes 5 tartlets

Crust

1 1/2 cup rolled oats, ground to flour

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

3 tbsps molasses

2-3 tbsps water

Lemon Filling

1 3/4 cup non-dairy milk

1/3 cup cane sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

3 tbsps cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
2. Mix together the oat flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger, and fresh ginger in a large bowl.
3. Add the water tablespoon by tablespoon until the dough is clumpy and sticks together when pressed.
4. Flour your tartlet pans, or line them with parchment paper. Press the dough into the pans. If you don’t have tartlet pans, you can use muffin tins instead.
5. Bake the crusts for 22-24 minutes at 350F.
6. For the pudding, combine 1 1/2 cups of non-dairy milk (reserving 1/4 cup), sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring it to a boil.
7. While you’re waiting, whisk the cornstarch into the remaining 1/4 cup of non-dairy milk.
8. Once the pudding has come to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the cornstarch slurry, whisking constantly as you do.
9. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes until thick. Whisk frequently to avoid clumps.
10. Divide the pudding among the crusts.
11. Chill for 4 hours before serving.

What’s your favorite holiday flavor? Eggnog? Peppermint? Gingerbread? Sugary vanilla? Or…?