Recipe: Miniature Cheesecakes, Little Lemon Mousse Tarts with Blueberries, Miniature Mud Pies with Rich and Creamy Chocolate Fudge Sauce

Roxie, I think that your cookie idea is a good idea. They can be made ahead of time, garnishing with the berries before serving so the colors don't bleed into the frosting.
Another idea is individual lemon tarts. I thought of these when I started thinking about a neighbor of mine when we lived in Virginia. She was having a barbeque for about 40 people. She made individual lemon tarts using lemon pudding and pie filling and the store bought small graham cracker tart shells (sold in the grocery store by the graham cracker and chocolate cookie pie crusts in the baking aisle). I think she topped them with Cool Whip.
I decided to look on the internet for other miniature desserts and found 3 recipes for you to consider. Two of them can be frozen, the other refrigerated.

Miniature Cheesecakes

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can (21 oz.) Comstock or Wilderness More Fruit Cherry, Blueberry or Strawberry fruit filling ( You could use all three so you have a variety of toppings and each person can choose their favorite cheesecake.)

Line cupcake pan with paper or foil liners. Place a vanilla wafer in bottom of each liner.

In small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Fill liners 2/3 full with cheese mixture. Bake in preheated 375F oven 15-20 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and top each with fruit filling. Chill. (I think that these could be frozen without the topping, then add the topping after thawing but long enough before so that the topping can be chilled in the refrigerator??!?)

Makes 12 servings

Little Lemon Mousse Tarts with Blueberries

(I don't think these can be frozen, just refrigerated ahead of time. Also, you could buy the pre-made tart shells at the store rather than making them.)

Servings: Makes 4 (4-inch) tarts

For The Lemon Mousse:
Grated zest and juice of 3 lemons (or to taste)
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

For The Tart Shells:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Cold water

Garnish:
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed
Mint sprigs, optional
Lemon zest, optional

For The Lemon Mousse:
In a non-reactive bowl* (see note below), whisk together the lemon zest, juice, egg yolks and sugar. Place over simmering water in a double boiler and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is firm and thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

To Prepare the Tart Shells:
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, butter, salt and sugar with a pastry blender or process in a food processor. Add a few tablespoons of cold water just to bind the dough. Shape into a disc and cut the dough into quarters. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350F (180C).

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each dough quarter and press into a 4-inch tart pan. Poke holes in the bottom with a fork. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool.

Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold in the lemon mixture. Spread the mixture into the cooled tart shells and top with blueberries. If desired, garnish with mint sprigs and lemon zest.

Makes 4 (4-inch) individual tarts.

*Note:
Non-reative Bowls or Cookware:
Non-reactive cookware is anything made of a material that does not react chemically to food cooked in it. Stainless steel is the most common material used to make non-reactive cookware. (Glass also works.)

Cookware made of aluminum, cast iron or copper can react with acidic foods such as tomatoes, lemons, vinegar, giving them a metallic taste; if cooked long enough, it will discolor the food as well. Other foods can be cooked in pans made of these materials without problems.

Miniature Mud Pies with Chocolate Sauce

Servings: 12

FOR THE CHOCOLATE TART SHELLS
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely ground almonds

FOR THE ICE CREAM
1/2 gallon Vanilla, Coffee, or Almond Ice Cream,
(or ice cream flavor of your choice)

FOR THE BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE SAUCE*
4 1/2 tbsp. water
4 1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1 1/2 cups whipping cream

FOR GARNISH-Optional
Fresh Strawberries, hulled, washed and dried
sliced in halves

TO PREPARE THE TART DOUGH:
Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add cocoa, and beat until well combined. Add egg, and beat until smooth.

Sift the all-purpose flour and ground almonds into the cocoa mixture. Beat mixture on low speed until well combined. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a disk. Cover, and chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a thickness of 3/16th of an inch. Using a 3 1/2 inch round cutter, cut out 12 circles of dough, and press them into individual 3-inch tartlet pans, trimming away any excess dough. Chill tart shells 20 minutes.

Line shells with 5-inch squares of foil, and fill with dried beans or rice as weights. Place shells on a baking pan, and bake 12-14 minutes, until set. Remove foil and weights, and cool shells on a rack.

TO PREPARE THE BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
Combine water and sugar in a sauce pan, bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Place the bittersweet chocolate in top of a double boiler. Place over hot water and stir until the chocolate has melted. Add the sugar syrup to the chocolate. In a separate small saucepan bring the whipping cream to a boil. Pour into the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth and shiny. Cool sauce at room temperature completely before drizzling or pouring over mud pies.

TO ASSEMBLE THE MUD PIES:
Remove tart shells from tartlet pans, and allow to cool completely on waxed paper.

On the waxed paper, place a scoop of ice cream (4-6 ounces) into each completely cooled tart shell, and level top of ice cream so it is rounded or dome shaped. Pour or drizzle the tarts with the cooled bittersweet chocolate sauce, covering the tarts completely.
Transfer the mud pies to a cookie sheet, and place in freezer. Freeze pies until firm, 1-2 hours. Serve frozen mud pies on chilled dessert plates and place strawberry halves decoratively around each mud pie (optional). Makes 12 mud pies.

*Note: Here is another chocolate sauce that can be used for this recipe if you'd like a fudgier and creamier chocolate coating over the mud pies.

RICH AND CREAMY CHOCOLATE FUDGE SAUCE:
Makes about 3 cups

1 1/2 cups (12 fluid-ounce can) Evaporated Milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 cups (12-ounce package) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine evaporated milk, sugar, butter and corn syrup in medium saucepan . Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in morsels and vanilla extract until thickened and smooth. Serve over ice cream or cake. Store leftover sauce in refrigerator; reheat before serving. If needed, add water to thin to desired consistency. Makes about 3 cups.

Tip: Tightly wrap any un-eaten mud pies in plastic wrap, and store pies in freezer for up to 2 weeks.