naf@cbdkc1.uucp (Nancy Foltz) (04/25/87)
Copyright (C) 1987 USENET Community Trust Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the USENET copyright notice and the title of the newsgroup and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the USENET Community Trust or the original contributor. .RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE PECAN-TARTS-1 C "22 Dec 86" 1987 .RZ "PECAN TARTS" "Miniature pecan pies" These are miniature pies, cooked in bite-size individual crusts in tiny muffin tins. They are quite delicious. .IH "4 dozen" .SH PASTRY .IG "6 oz" "cream cheese" "180 g" .IG "\(12 lb" "butter or margarine" "250 g" .IG "2 cups" "all-purpose flour" "200 g" .SH FILLING .IG "3 cups" "brown sugar" "600 g" .IG "2 tsp" "vanilla" "10 ml" .IG "1 cup" "chopped pecans" "110 g" .IG "4" "eggs," beaten .IG "4 Tbsp" "melted butter or margarine" "60 g" .PH .SK 1 Allow the butter and cream cheese to soften. Mix cream cheese and butter with a mixer until fluffy. Then (using your hands) mix in the flour. Separate mixture into four equal parts and flatten each into a rectangular shape. Allow the pastry to chill for several hours. .SK 2 Preheat oven to .TE 350 175 . .SK 3 Prepare filling by mixing all ingredients gently. Use a spoon, not a mixer. Refrigerate until muffin tins are ready to fill. .SK 4 Take one unit of the chilled pastry and cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and then form the ball into the muffin tin in the shape of a crust. Fill each tart about \(34 full. .SK 5 Bake at .TE 350 175 for 20 to 30 minutes. .NX You will need to purchase tiny muffin tins, sometimes called ``nugget pans,'' to make these tarts. They are inexpensive and you can use these for various other things. It is best to purchase enough to make four dozen at once. The entire four dozen will fit into the oven on one rack! It is best to spray these tins with cooking oil before putting the crust in. .PP There is a wooden utensil called a ``tart-tamper'' that is a real time-saver for this recipe. It might be difficult to find. It is used to smash the ball to fit the tin so you don't spend a lot of time using your fingers. You dip the tip of the tamper in flour each time to prevent sticking to the pastry. It also makes the pastry look much more uniform and professional. .PP Bake these until \fIslightly\fR brown. To remove tarts, just turn the tin upside down onto paper towels and then turn the tart right side up on a baking rack to cool. .SH RATING .I Difficulty: easy if you have a tart tamper; moderate otherwise. .I Time: 15 minutes pastry preparation; several hours chilling; 1 hour filling, baking, and cooling. .I Precision: Be precise for the pastry, filling may be approximate. .WR Nancy Foltz AT&T Bell Labs, Columbus, Ohio, USA cbdkc1!naf