| 1 | Nonstick spray coating dairy sour cream (optional) sliced or slivered pitted ripe olives, red caviar or chives (optional) roasted red papper or pitted ripe olive cutouts* (optional) for crust, spray twenty-four 1 ?inch muffin cups with nonstick spray coating. |
| 2 | Sprinkle bread crumbs or crushed zwieback onto bottom and sides to coat. |
| 3 | Shake pans to remove excess crumbs. |
| 4 | Set aside. |
| 5 | In a small mixer bowl, combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, swiss cheese, flour, basil, and garlic powder. |
| 6 | Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed just till fluffy. |
| 7 | Add eggs; beat on low speed just till combined. |
| 8 | Do not overbeat. |
| 9 | Fill each crumb-lined muffin cup with 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture. |
| 10 | Bake in a 375 °F oven for 15 minutes or till centers appear set. |
| 11 | (tarts will puff during baking, then deflate as they cool). |
| 12 | Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. |
| 13 | Remove from pans. |
| 14 | Cool thoroughly on wire racks. |
| 15 | To serve, spread tops with sour cream. |
| 16 | Garnish with olives, caviar, chives, and/or red pepper and olive cut-outs. |
| 17 | Makes 24 tarts. |
| 18 | To refrigerate: bake and cool tarts as directed, except do not spread with sour cream or top with garnish. |
| 19 | Cover and chill kin the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. |
| 20 | Let tarts stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. |
| 21 | Spread with sour cream and garnish as directed. |
| 22 | To freeze: bake and cool tarts as directed, except do not spread with sour cream or garnish. |
| 23 | Freeze tarts, uncovered, on wire rack about 1 hour or till firm. |
| 24 | Transfer to a freezer container or bag. |
| 25 | Seal, label, and place in the freezer. |
| 26 | To thaw, let stand, loosely covered, at room temperature about 2 hours or in the refrigerator overnight. |
| 27 | Spread with sour cream and garnish as directed. |
| 28 | * decorative cut-outs: use tiny hors d"oeuvre cutters to cut leaves, stars, or other decorative shapes out of the roasted red peppers and pitted ripe olives |