« Chocolate Orange Fudge | Main | Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts »
January 13, 2009
Mini Pecan Delights
Ingredients:
Tart Shells:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
Filling:
2 tbl butter, melted
1and 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup pecan halves, finely chopped
Powdered sugar (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. For tart shells, beat butter and cream cheese in a bowl until well blended. Add flour, and mix until a soft dough forms.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place within the ungreased cups of a mini muffin pan. (There should be 24 cups for this pan.) Dip a tart shaper into flour, and press into the dough with even pressure until the dough rises slightly above the rim of pan. Don't let the tart shell become too thin, or the filling will seep out and make it impossible to get the tart out of the pan once cooked.
For the filling, place the butter in a bowl and microwave on high for 30 econds or until melted. Stir in the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Finely chop pecans and add to the batter bowl and mix well.
Using a small spoon, fill each tart shell with a level scoop of filling. Do not overfill. Bake at 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven, and cool in the pan for 3 minutes. Remove from the pan to the counter or a cooling rack and cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
Creates 24 tarts.
(This recipe modified from its original, which was provided by Pampered Chef.)
*** A couple of notes:
1. This recipe isn't as sweet as other desserts, so if you have a crowd of sugar-fiends, go with something else.
2. Make certain you are softening the butter and cheese for the tart shells, or the conglomeration with the flour will turn out far stickier and less manageable than it should be.
Posted by Kelli Little at January 13, 2009 05:04 PM