Tartelets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Small individual pastry cases filled with sweet fruit, custard, or savory ingredients and baked until crisp
2. Miniature open tarts made from short pastry and served with a variety of sweet or savory fillings
3. Tiny shallow pastry shells, often bite-sized, that are filled with cream, fruit, cheese, or other toppings

Etymology: "Tartelets" is simply the plural of "tartelet," a diminutive of "tartlet," which in turn comes from Old French "tarte" (a flan or open pie) with the diminutive suffix "-let," borrowed from French "-elet." The base word traces back to Medieval Latin "tarta," and its ultimate origin is uncertain, though it is often linked to the Arabic or Persian "tharīda," a dish of bread soaked in broth. The "-let" ending, from Anglo-Norman and Old French, is the same suffix found in "booklet" and "piglet," marking something small. The word "tartlet" is thus a double diminutive: a small tart, made smaller again. Because "tart" was used in English for a pie of fruit or savoury filling, the form "tartlet" naturally followed, and "tartelet" is a variant spelling that keeps closer to the French shape of the suffix.

Synonyms: tartlet, tart