Puff pastry Tomato tartlets

I am in love with these cute little tartlets! Today I made these for the second time this week. These are the simplest, quickest (relatively!), and most delicious little treats I have ever made. The reason they are so easy to make is the ready made puff pastry crust.
I am a seriously challenged dough maker. I can never get it right when I want to make homemade bread or pizza dough and the like (the reason for the lack of such recipes on my blog). But puff pastry is a joy! It is fail proof and sooo good! It is of course mostly used for sweet desserts, but this is the perfect flaky crust for these tomato tartlets. From now on I will be making these any time I need an appetizer, an after school snack for my kids, or just as a side with a pasta meal, which was the case this evening. These are good warm, but equally so at room temperature. They would be a great take along treat, perfect for a pic nik.  OK, I am  out of superlatives, just make them and let me know what you think. Happy week end!

Tomato tartlets
All purpose flour for rolling

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

2 1/2 ounces grated sharp white cheddar
3 medium tomatoes, cut into ten 1/4 inch thick slices
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
ground pepper
1/2 cup small basil leaves, for serving

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly flour a rolling pin and work surface and roll out puff pastry to a 14- by-16 inch rectangle. With a 4- inch cookie cutter cut out 10 rounds and transfer to a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet (see note). With a fork, prick each round all over. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cheese on each, leaving a 1/4-inch border, and top with 1 tomato slice. Brush with oil and season with pepper.

Bake until pastry is deep golden at edges, 25-30 minutes. Let tartlets cool completely on a wire rack. You can store these between layers of parchment in an airtight container for a day or two. To serve, top with basil.

Note! I didn't have a 4-inch cookie cutter, so I found a round lid that was just shy of this measurement. A bowl or cup would work well too, just measure the diameter. Since my tartlets were slightly smaller than indicated in the recipe I was able to fit them all on one baking sheet. If they are bigger you may have to use 2 sheets.

Makes 10


Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart  magazine, Everyday food, special issue, summer 2011