These Pecan Tarts are a family favorite! They look like mini Pecan Pie's and are also known as Pecan Tassies! With a few simple ingredients like brown sugar, pecans and a fool-proof cream cheese pastry crust, they look so pretty on a holiday cookie tray! These also freeze beautifully.
Filling (please note: I ended up making an additional half batch of the filling, and this ended up being the perfect amount in combination with the 8oz. bag of chopped pecans I had):
2eggs
1 ½cupsof brown sugar
1Tbsp.of margarineI used butter
1tsp.of vanilla extract
Chopped pecansI ran then quickly through my mini food processor until the with quite small (I had an 8oz. bag)
Instructions
For the Crust:
Preheat your over to 350 degrees.
Beat together the cream cheese and the butter; add flour and mix.
Refrigerate overnight (or if you're impatient like me, for an hour).
Spray your mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
Roll into nut sized balls and press into the mini muffin tins. I did this by poking my finger into the middle of each ball and using that as my guide to press it into place. I'm pretty sure if Rosie were here she'd have a lot to say about the size of my balls (That's what he said! I know, I'm at the maturity level of a high schooler). Specifically, that they are a bit too big because you want the crust really thin. I could never get this as well as she could as my crusts would crumble if they were too thin, so I do it the best I can.
At this point the recipe says to refrigerate the tins all night, but again impatience takes over and I don't chill it any further.
For the filling and through the end of the recipe:
Mix the brown sugar, remaining butter, eggs and vanilla until combined.
Take a small amount of nuts and put them at the bottom of each tart shell.
Next put a small amount of the brown sugar mixture (don't fill them up to the top, as the filling expands a bit while baking.).