The Holy Trinity

I told you I would and I did.

I figured my birthday was a perfect excuse to make these. I'm going to an outdoor festival tomorrow so they needed to be easily portable. I decided to make them tart-sized to solve this problem. They are amazing.

EAT-THESE-AND-DIE-HAPPY TARTS

FOR TART SHELLS:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

8 tablespoons (about) ice water

Tin tart shells

1 box cake mix + necessary add-ins(oil, egg, etc)

1 tube chocolate chip cookie dough

1 tub frosting

To make tart shells: Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, incorporate vegetable shortening and butter chunks until mixture is coarse and mealy. Add ice water (2 tbsp at a time) until dough holds together. Gather into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm (about 1 hour). Roll out until 1/8-1/4 inch thickness and cut out circles using a cookie cutter or drinking glass. Press into tin tart shells. Stab bottom of dough a couple of times with a fork.

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Press a small amount of chocolate chip cookie dough into the bottom of unbaked tart shells.

Prepare cake mix according to the box and spoon into tarts over cookie dough until just below the lip of the shell.

Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Makes 25 tarts

NOTES:

• You will most likely have leftover cake batter as well as cookie dough. I had enough to make 6 cupcakes and the cookie dough is sitting in my fridge because I figured chocolate chip cookies would just be gratuitous hehe

• I cooked my tarts on top of a cast iron skillet. Awhile ago I was trying to figure out a way to try and crisp up the bottom of a pie without pre-baking it and my dad came up with the idea of placing it on top of a cast iron pan in the oven. I haven't tried to make them sans pan yet so I don't know if the skillet really had anything to do with it but the bottoms are satisfyingly cooked.