The rainy weather yesterday meant all I wanted to do was stay in my pajamas and be unproductive, so I decided to make these little tartlets. That way, at least I would have achieved something during my lazy day and have a yummy meal at the same time.

I went to Weshop envisioning little golden phyllo pastry tartlets with caramelized onions, pear, and blue cheese nestled inside. Unfortunately, Weshop didn’t have any phyllo pastries. I considered making my own flaky pastry, but it sounded too complicated, so I ended up buying a tube of Pillsbury biscuits. They are much easier to bake and taste just as good, even if they are not quite as flaky.

If you use a premade pastry like I did, these tartlets are a really easy way to impress people with your culinary prowess in less than thirty minutes. These were deliciously rich, fluffy biscuits, and judging by my housemates’ borderline inappropriate moans of ecstasy, they tasted pretty good.

A note on the pastry: As delicious as the Pillsbury biscuits were, the next time I make this recipe I will definitely go to an off-campus supermarket to look for phyllo tart shells or take the time to make my own pastry—but that’s just my personal preference for homemade food. To make your own pastry, use a standard piecrust recipe and cut the pastry into two-inch squares. Press into a muffin tray and bake for a little less time than the piecrust recipe requires. Follow the directions as below, but once you’ve added the filling, bake for five minutes instead of fifteen.

Since the biscuits are pretty big and the topping makes them super rich and filling, I found a tartlet made a perfect light supper when paired with a spring salad.

These tartlets are so good that I highly doubt you’ll have many left over, but if you are going to eat them later, I recommend taking the time to reheat them in the oven before eating. Biscuits don’t taste nearly as good cold, and they deserve better treatment than a minute in the microwave.

Ingredients: (makes 8)

1 tube of Pillsbury biscuits
1 onion
1 pear
1 tub of blue cheese crumbles
2 tablespoons cream or plain yogurt
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the oven is warm, lay the biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet and use a shot glass to press down firmly in the middle of each to make indents. Bake for ten minutes and then take out and cool.

While you are preheating the oven, chop the onion and caramelize it with butter or oil in a pan over medium heat until golden brown.

Mix together the blue cheese crumbles, cream (or yogurt), and the thinly-sliced pear in a bowl. Add the caramelized onion. Grind black pepper to taste.

Spoon some of the blue cheese mixture into the hollowed-out indent of each biscuit. There should not be any left over.

Put the baking sheet back in the oven and bake for another fifteen minutes. Serve warm.