These festive tarts look complicated to make,
but they're surprisingly EASY!
Pecan Pie Tarts
Crust
3 oz. cream cheese
1 stick of butter
1 cup flour
Filling
2 Tbs. melted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar packed
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup finely chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350-degrees
To make the crust, cream the butter
and cream cheese together.
Add the flour and mix well.
You will end up with a powdery
dough like this:
Press the dough together with
your hands to form a ball.
Roll the dough into individual
one-inch balls.
Place the balls into a mini muffin tin.
To easily create the tart shells,
search in your cabinet for
a medicine vial or bottle that
is a bit smaller than the muffin tin openings.
Clean the outside of the bottle well in soapy water and use
it as a pastry dowel.
Flour the bottle between each tart.
I know it sounds a little crazy, but
this method makes it so easy and fast to
create the tart shells.
For the filling, melt the butter.
Mix together with the
rest of the ingredients.
I have a small scoop, but
you can also use a teaspoon.
Fill each tart cup to just below
the top. The filling does
rise a tad in the oven.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow the tarts
to cool for three minutes.
Use a table knife to carefully
lift the warm tarts out of the muffin tin.
Place on a cooling rack
to cool thoroughly.
These make an elegant
addition to your holiday table.
