Tag: dessert first

Pecan Tartlets-The Perfect Little Nutty Bite

Pecan Tartlets-The Perfect Little Nutty Bite

We were invited to Rosh Hashanah dinner the other night and I volunteered to bring dessert.  It’s usually a no brainer since our host LOVES Lemon Bars.  But then I remembered I had promised to post Mrs. S’s Pecan Tartlet recipe.  The Lemon Bars would have to wait for another occasion.

Mrs. S, for all of you that have not read my Toffee Bars post (hint, hint), is my baking muse and mom of my BFF, Joy.  Every Christmas, since I met Joy in middle school, I have been the lucky recipient of a plate of Mrs. S’s holiday cookies.  They were delicious and beautiful.  She was meticulous and something of a control freak (I can SO relate) so she would shoo us out of the kitchen when she started her holiday baking.  Occasionally she would let us help with just the finishing touches, placing the pecan halves in her chocolate thumbprints or rolling her meltingly tender almond crescents in powdered sugar.  But mixing the cookie dough itself, nope, that was her domain.

My Favorites

Her Toffee Bars and Pecan Tartlets.  When I became interested in cooking and baking and not just eating, I asked for her cookie recipes and she was gracious enough to share them with me.  For Mrs. S making these cookies became second nature.  Details and how-to’s were committed to memory, not to paper.  Over the years I have figured out the little extra steps she took that elevated her cookies, especially her Pecan Tartlets, above the rest.  I’ve also added my tweaks to make the process easier and faster.

How-Tos:

The tart crust is butter and cream cheese-based and similar to a cookie dough.  It does not include any liquids so it won’t shrink much.  I make the dough in a food processor, much like tart dough.  The dry ingredients are placed in the food processor bowl and pulsed a couple of times to combine.  The original recipe includes up to half a cup of sugar in the dough, way too much.  I often don’t add any sugar but if you like a sweeter crust, add a MAX of 1/4 cup.  Note that the more sugar you add, the quicker you will need to roll out the dough as the sugar makes the dough stickier and tougher to work with.  Add the butter and cream cheese and pulse until the dough just starts to clump.  Do not overprocess.  Gather the dough and chill for approximately 2 hours. 

You could scoop out dough, roll it into balls and press each into tiny muffin tins which is pretty easy, but then you wouldn’t get those cute scalloped edges.  Mrs. S’s method was to roll the dough out approximately 3/16 inch thick and cut it with a flower petal cookie cutter.  I know, lots of work but, look at how nice they look.  The genius of using the petal cutter is the shape makes it very easy to press the dough into the muffin tins.

Next Step:

Make the filling while the dough chills in the fridge.  Here’s the cheat.  Pour the filling into a squeeze bottle.  I replace the top with the lid from the honey I buy at TJ’s.  The spout is bigger which allows the filling to flow easily…a nice squirt into each muffin cup.  How EASY is that?  Ingenuity being the mother of invention, my cheapie wine opener works perfectly for pressing the dough evenly into the muffin tin.

Fill the tarts to where the petals meet and sprinkle the pecans on top.  Walnuts or a mix of different nuts would be delicious too.  Follow the baking instructions.  When slightly cooled, dust the tarts with a nice layer of powdered sugar.

Enjoy these little bites of bliss.  Don’t wait until the holidays to make them!

MINIATURE PECAN TARTS

Bite-sized pecan tarts, sweet, nutty and delicious!
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cookies, holiday baking, Mini Pecan Tarts, pecans
Prep Time 45 minutes
35 minutes

Equipment

  • mini-muffin tin
  • 2 inch petal cookie cutter optional

Ingredients

Cream Cheese pastry

    Mix together:

    • 3 ounce cream cheese
    • 1 stick butter salted, or if using unsalted add 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour  preferably Gold Medal but any will work

    Filling

      Blend together:

      • 1 tablespoon softened butter
      • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar light brown sugar
      • 1 egg large
      • 1 teaspoon vanilla
      • 1 cup chopped pecans substitute mixed nuts if you like, walnuts

      Instructions

      Dough

      • Original instructions: Combine well and refrigerate. Cut into small circles and press into mini-muffin tin.
      • My instructions: Mix the dough in a food processor. Place flour in fp bowl. Add butter and cream cheese to flour. Pulse mixture just until it begins to clump. Do not overprocess. Pour onto wax paper or plastic wrap and pat into a disc shape. Chill for at least 2 hours.
      • On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry out to 3/16-1/4 inch thickness. Cut into small circles. I use a petal cutter 2.5-inch or a plain round 2-inch cutter. Press circles into ungreased muffin tins. Chill muffin tins while making the filling.

      Filling

      • Blend filling ingredients well. Pour into a squeeze bottle. I use a plastic TJ honey container that has an opening about 1/8inch. This is a quick way to fill the muffin tins. You could use a spoon.
      • Fill prepared muffin tins about 3/4 full.  Allow filling to settle slightly.  Fill each muffin tin to the top with finely chopped pecans (about 1 cup)  Chill.
      • Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 250 degrees and bake 20 minutes longer. Allow tarts to cool and carefully remove from tins.
      • Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar while still warm.  Allow to cool before removing from tins.

      Notes

      There aren't instructions for the prepared muffin tins.  I'm guessing at lightly greased.  I generally don't grease the tins and occasionally I lose a tartlet to sticking but for the most part a little pry with a thin bladed knife and the tarts come out of the pan.
      Crazy Stupid Lemon Love (Atlantic Beach Pie)

      Crazy Stupid Lemon Love (Atlantic Beach Pie)

      STOP Whatever You Are Doing Right Now

      Go to your pantry, take out the box of Ritz Crackers, sugar, and that can of sweetened condensed milk from last year’s holiday dessert extravaganza.  Reach into your fruit bowl, grab a couple of lemons and from the fridge pull out eggs, butter and whipping cream.  That’s it, everything you need to make this absolutely scrumptious pie.  Six items to launch yourself into pie bliss.

      NPR-Nice Pie Review

      During my drive to work one day, a segment on NPR caught my attention when I heard the word PIE followed by “Oh My God, Oh My God, Oh My God”.  It was cookbook author Katie Workman describing her first bite of Bill Smith’s Atlantic Beach Pie.  I adore pie and here was a story about a lemon pie that originated in North Carolina and is a favorite of the folks in the South.  Is it a lemon meringue pie?  Kind of, except top the citrusy filling with billowy mounds of whipped cream.  No meringue here. The crust is made with saltines instead of graham crackers and is delightfully crispy, sweet and salty .

      I couldn’t wait to get home and make this pie.

      DSC04239Though the original recipe calls for saltines, I used Ritz crackers instead.  I love Ritz crackers and I always have a box around.  The crushed Ritz crackers (do not pulverize your crackers but should be fine crumbs) are mixed with sugar and softened butter.   The key is to mix the crumbs with the butter until they hold together similar to dough.  This is best accomplished by first pulsing your crackers in a food processor or smashing them with a rolling pin in a Ziploc. Then use your hands to combine the crumbs and butter.   Press crumbs into an 8-inch buttered pie plate.  Don’t worry, the mixture will still be loose when you are pressing it in the pie plate, especially on the rim, but it’s ok.  Bake until golden color about 15 minutes.

      Easy Peasy Lemon Squeasy Filling

      Combine egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and lemon or lime juice (or both).  I added two tablespoons heavy cream (not in the original recipe but an optional add). Whisk together, pour the filling into the pre-baked crust and bake for 15 minutes. EASY-PEASY  As the pie cools, whip one cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form and hold their shape.  I did sweeten my whip cream slightly (1-2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla).  Chill the pie until set and then pile on the cream.  Garnish with a sprinkling of coarse salt and strands of lemon zest.  DIG IN!  Yum, yum, yum.

      Yep, CRAZY good, STUPID easy.

      Here is the link to the NPR segment on Atlantic Beach Pie in Found Recipes.

      Atlantic Beach Pie, Crazy Stupid Lemon Love

      This pie is so good it's iconic now, Atlantic Beach Pie, crumb crust, lemon filling topped with whipped cream, delicious.
      Course Dessert, Pie
      Cuisine American
      Keyword Atlantic Beach PIe, lemon, pie
      Prep Time 15 minutes
      Cook Time 35 minutes

      Ingredients

      For crust:

      • 1 1/2 sleeves of saltine crackers or Ritz crackers about 6 ounces
      • 1/3 to 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
      • 3 tablespoons sugar

      For the filling

      • 1 can 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
      • 4 egg yolks
      • 1/2 cup lemon or lime juice or a mix of the two
      • 2-4 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
      • 1 teaspoon lemon zest optional I added zest to increase the lemon flavor

      Da Finish

      • 1 cup heavy cream
      • 1 tsp vanilla
      • 1-2 tsp granulated sugar
      • Coarse sea salt for garnish
      • lemon or lime zest for garnish

      Instructions

      • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
      • Crush the crackers finely, but not to dust. I use my food processor or dump the crackers into a ziploc and crush with a rolling pin.
      • Add the sugar, then knead in the butter until the crumbs hold together like dough.
      • Press into a buttered 8 inch pie pan.
      • Chill for 15 minutes, then bake for 18 minutes or until the crust colors a little.
      • While the crust is cooling (it doesn't need to be cold), beat the egg yolks into the condensed milk, then stir in the citrus juice. Make sure filling is well combined.
      • Pour into the shell and bake for 14-16 minutes until the filling has set.
      • Chill until set.
      • Pile whipped cream on top of pie. Sprinkle with salt or garnish with zest