Made with a whole wheat crust and with no sugar in the filling, these 5-inch apple tarts are the perfect, healthy dessert. They’re filling enough to share, but delicious enough to be indulgent without completely going overboard.

They’re perfectly sweet as-is, and they’re hearty enough to eat for breakfast! Ahem.

I made two 5-inch tartlets, but if you could also make one large tart. An 8″ or 9″ pie pan could work well, too!

The dough recipe below makes enough for 4, 5-inch tarts. If you only are making 2 tarts, you can freeze the extra dough for future baking.

You can also easily make this recipe vegan or gluten-free!

To make the tartlets vegan:

• Replace the butter with Earth Balance (or other vegan substitute)
• Replace the egg with Ener-G egg replacer 

To make it gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour of your choice. Garbanzo flour would probably work well for the consistency needed in this crust.

No-Sugar-Added Apple Tartlets

Crust Ingredients (makes 4, 5-inch crusts)

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 Tbsp. stevia
• 1 3/4 sticks butter
• 1/2 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 1/2 large egg (whisk first then separate half)
• 1/2 cup ice water

Filling ingredients (makes 2, 5-inch fillings)

•  2 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced very thin
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon (optional)

Steps

1. Combine the flour, salt, and stevia in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender, forks, or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
2. Whisk the vinegar and egg together. Mix the liquid into the flour mixture with your hands until just combined. Add the water 1 Tbsp. at a time until the dough sticks together in a mound. Press together firmly.
3. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Shape each into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill 2 disks for at least 1 hour to overnight. Freeze the extras for up to 3 months.
4. Preheat the oven to 400F.
5. Press the dough firmly into the bottoms and sides of two 5″ tart pans.
6. Bake for 15 minutes at 400F.
7. Reduce the temperature to 375F.
8. In a medium bowl, toss the apples with the applesauce and lemon juice. Add the cinnamon if desired. Reserve 8-10 slices for decoration.Transfer to a medium skillet and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the apples have softened.
9. Fill the crusts with the applesauce mixture, then place the remaining apple slices on top.
10. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes.
11. Cool completely. Serve with ice cream or soft-serve bananas. Enjoy!

Adjust the recipe as necessary for your needs and tastes. You can determine the nutritional content of your final product using Recipe Calculator.

Do you like to share desserts?

Do you enjoy mini-desserts or would you rather have a slice from a large pie?