Greek Yogurt Berry Cookie Tart (100% whole grain option)
Quick and easy to put together, this healthier 100% whole grain cookie tart has a creamy Greek yogurt, white chocolate and cream cheese filling! Can also be made with all-purpose flour.
When I arrived back home a week ago, Mr. T had made this awesome tasting but very high-calorie fruit pizza for me. And we decided that I had to recreate it and make it a little bit healthier!
The filling in this one is made out of Greek yogurt, cream cheese and white chocolate. It’s super quick and easy to whip up and a breeze to decorate, which is always a score for someone like myself who has no decorating skills. Just toss on some blueberries and strawberries, and you’ve got a great little dessert for July 4th.
I made two versions of this Greek yogurt cookie tart. One with a more traditional crust with very little sugar and some coconut oil. I used all whole wheat pastry flour, which I had brought back with me, and it was a huge failure.
And then I tried again but with a cookie crust. And with butter and a lot more sugar. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that this version was SO much better.
The crust isn’t too hard and not too soft. I’d say it’s kind of like a Lofthouse cookie. While I really loved the tart Mr. T made for me, I found myself leaving the crust behind.
It just wasn’t soft enough for my liking. With this version, the crust is just as good as the topping! No wasted calories here.
This time I went with half white whole wheat and half whole wheat pastry flour. I don’t recommend using regular whole wheat flour for your cookie tart crust unless you want your cookie base to taste healthy.
Can’t eat wheat? Try this gluten-free fruit tart!
I was worried that there might still be a slight whole wheat taste, even with my combination of the two flours, so I used some lemon extract and zest, which resulted in a crust that’s light and lemony. No whole wheat taste here!
Now we need to talk about white chocolate. While I was living in the US, I wasn’t really into baking like I am now. And I never used white chocolate, just because I didn’t come across any white chocolate recipes I really wanted to try.
Then I moved to Germany and started experimenting with white chocolate. I buy the cheapest brand and even that’s amazing. I always shrugged and admittedly rolled my eyes at the warnings on recipes from other bloggers. “Make sure to use a high-quality white chocolate!”
Many people wrote comments on my blog about how they disliked white chocolate. I just couldn’t understand it. To me, it was like saying you don’t like puppies or little ducklings or something. It just couldn’t be.
But now I understand.
White chocolate in the US? That stuff was pretty gross. It tasted like plastic and chemicals. My mother had a few different brands in her pantry, and I didn’t like any of ’em.
From what I’ve read and heard, Ghirardelli is the best. So please… do not make this recipe with the cheap stuff! (unless you live in Europe, where the cheap stuff is good :))
And one final thing to note is that your filling will be thicker than what you see here. I might have eaten about… a third of it, waiting for my cookie crust to cool. It was just too good. So I apologize for the unrepresentative picture! Just imagine the filling being as thick as the crust.
Prefer a grain-free version? Check out this grain-free blueberry tart from My Whole Food Life!
Greek Yogurt Berry Cookie Tart (100% whole grain option)
Ingredients
For the cookie crust:
- 5 tablespoons (70 grams) butter
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (125 grams) unrefined sugar or white sugar
- 1 large egg 50 grams, out of shell, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 3/4 cup (93 grams) white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 3/4 cup (93 grams) whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
For the filling:
- 3/4 cup (110 grams) white chocolate
- 8 ounces (225 grams) cream cheese
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
To decorate:
- strawberries and blueberries
Instructions
For the cookie crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C).
- Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.5 tablespoons (70 grams) butter, 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (125 grams) unrefined sugar
- Add the egg, lemon zest and lemon extract and mix until well combined.1 large egg, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- Add the remaining ingredients (white whole wheat, flour through baking soda) and mix for a minute or until well combined.3/4 cup (93 grams) white whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup (93 grams) whole wheat pastry flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda
- Press into the bottom and all the way up the sides of a 14″x5″ tart pan and bake for 15 minutes.
- Let the tart cool completely before filling.
For the filling:
- In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate on half power in 20 second increments, stirring after each 20 seconds, until melted.3/4 cup (110 grams) white chocolate
- Add the cream cheese and Greek yogurt and with a hand mixer, beat together until well combined. Spread this over the cooled cookie crust.8 ounces (225 grams) cream cheese, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- Cover and store in the refrigerator until serving.
- Before serving, add the strawberries and blueberries or any other fruit you’d like.
Notes
- If you add the berries the night before, I’m afraid that they’ll bleed and look rumply in the morning. So please decorate just before serving!
- Only use a high quality white chocolate. If it’s not good enough to eat on its own, it’s probably not good enough to use in this tart.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
Hi, what white chocolate do you suggest I use when whipping up this fruit pizza? I actually have a lot of ideas in mind but now I am no longer sure because my ideas may not be the best white chocolate brand. Can you recommend a brand for me? I am preparing this for the Fourth of July and I don’t want to mess up. Thanks.
I’d use Ghirardelli. I link to it in the second to last paragraph. :) Hope you enjoy it!
Your tart looks beautiful!! You captured it wonderfully so I don’t know what you were worried about when taking photos. I have to say I totally agree with you and the white chocolate thing. My foreign exchange student introduced us to the good stuff…huge difference. I am really going to make this soon since I was just thinking about a dessert pizza but something a little lighter would be great. Thanks for posting this recipe :)
It was just tricky with the angles! And do you think Ghiradelli is as good as the German stuff? I need to know for research purposes. ;)
This looks beautiful and sound so delicious, thanks for working out all the fabulous details Erin!
Haha. No problem! :)
Love that Mr. T made you a pizza. I especially love that you made such a beautiful tart that is semi healthy. I SO want that crust right now.
The crust is SO good! Definitely give it a try. And yeah… that fruit pizza was the best coming home present I could have asked for! :)
Can you use coconut oil instead of butter in the crust? I want to make this for our 6th :) of July party, but I have a family coming that is dairy-free. Do you think it will work?
I forgot to mention that I’ll be using something else for the filling, just wanting to use your crust recipe along with the berries.
Hey there! I usually use coconut oil and regular butter interchangeably but I’ve never had luck with it comes to crusts like this. :( And what kind of flour would you use? I don’t think this would be good with all regular whole wheat and using German 405 or 550 would be a gamble, too. If you tried with coconut oil, I would use less. I’d go with 52 grams and see if that works but I’m afraid I’m not sure about it. Good luck if you do try and happy 6th! :D
I followed your advice, used 52g coconut oil and half 405 and half whole spelt flour. I had to double it to fit in those German tart pans, and it was like a giant chewy cookie. A huge hit at our picnic! For anyone else dairy-free, I used the custard from this recipe http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/06/02/berry-tart-with-dairy-free-vanilla-bean-custard/. Thanks for another great recipe!
Awesome! So happy that it worked out for you and thanks for the link to that custard. Sounds good! :)
That is really interesting! I didnt realize the difference in quality of the chocolate! I need to find out if the same is true here! (I dont really care for white chocolate either, but maybe its the quality Ive tasted…. hmm!) This looks amazing though, and the photos are really awesome!
Yeah, it’s only white chocolate I’m talking about here with quality! I’m sure I’d be fine with some cheap semi-sweet chocolate. :) And darn… I wish I would have seen you while in the US! I would have brought you a big bar of German white chocolate to bake with. And thanks for the picture comment. :D I wanted to throw this thing out the window! Really frustrating.
This tart is gorgeous! Love the idea of adding lemon zest and extract to hide the wheat taste!
Thanks, Jessica! I only thought of it last minute and was so happy. :)
Ha I totally understand what you mean about using the cheap stuff. It is truly disgusting. This tart looks amazing, I see that you have used your new mold :-)
I really had no idea! And yes. Love my new pan! :)
Just perfect :D
Thanks, Kristi! :)
I love this so much…perfect for summer!
Thank you, Julie! And agreed. To me, this is *the* summer dessert. :)
Sometimes things aren’t meant to be healthy. Hey, there’s still the fruit, right? This is one stunning tart.
Hehe. I like how you think! Thanks, Jennie! :)
This is such a gorgeous tart, Erin! So colorful and perfect for a festive Fourth dessert!
Thanks, Georgia! And yay. I finally posted something for a holiday! Woohoo. I’m awful at that.
At least I have a reason not to like white chocolate: it makes my stomach hurt. But then again maybe I was eating the cheap stuff. Ghirardelli white chocolate does spark my interest though because it only has one ingredient in it. But this cookie tart thing looks sooo delicious! Do you think the filling would work with using actual chocolate (like milk/semi-sweet/dark)?
Hmm. Maybe? I don’t know how well chocolate would go with Greek yogurt but I’m guessing it’d be lovely! :) And white chocolate makes your stomach hurt? Aww. That stinks!
Such a pretty tart, this would be perfect for 4th of July!
Thanks, Laura! Your raspberry tart inspired me to get this pan. :)
Aren’t you quick! I didn’t expect this tart for a few days!! Gorgeous, and I just want to a spoon to dig into that cream!
What’s sad is that I had to make two versions. I hate it when that happens and I don’t have anyone to share with. It means I can’t make other stuff because I have to eat all this! At least it tastes good. Well, this was quite the rant. Sorry about that, Erin. :)
This is beautiful! And I love that you’ve made it healthier :)
Thanks, Annie! I tried with the healthifying but there’s only so much I could (or really wanted) to do. ;)
Aaaaaaaaaaaaand look how pretty that pic is ;)
Aww, thanks Katrina! And thanks again for your IG comment. :)
This is one of my faaaavorite desserts that people bring to summer gatherings! Excited to see a healthier version :)
Same here! I always silently cheer when I see that someone has made that. It’s never EVER bad! :D
Love the idea of that cookie crush, the fresh berries and that rich and creamy filling. So good.
Thanks, Kathryn! And yeah… about that cookie crust: I want it in everything now. No more normal crust. Ever! :)
What a gorgeous tart! I love the cookie crust and the white chocolate filling. I’m a white chocolate lover (always the good stuff!), especially when it’s paired with fruit :)
Ooh, I should have asked you where to get the good stuff while in the US! I did look at those Belgian bars at TJ’s but they didn’t have any white chocolate.