Pecan Tarts

When I was in high school, one of my best friends had me over at her house for dinner all the time.  Including her mom and stepdad's annual Christmas party.  They made the *best* food, and my all time favorite thing they made were pecan tarts.  Now, this isn't their recipe (it's Martha Stewart's), but omg is it bringing back some serious memories of the golden light in their kitchen, smell of these tarts in the oven, laughing and goofing around and then settling down to listen to a Christmas story on a record.  I can't remember what the story was- maybe A Christmas Carol?  Something shorter?  Either way- treasured memories all brought to mind with this treasured treat.  Enjoy.

Ingredients

Dough

• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt

Filling

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Make dough: process pecans in a food processor until finely ground.  Put mascarpone and butter into the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment.  Mix on medium-high speed until well blended.  Add flour, ground pecans, and salt.  Mix just until dough comes together.
2. Roll dough into 1-inch balls (should make 16) and press into bottoms and up sides of cups of mini muffin tins.  I used a nonstick tin and I didn't have to use spray or anything on it beforehand.
3. Make filling: whisk the egg, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, butter, and salt in a bowl.  Stir in pecans.  Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling into each muffin cup.
4. Bake until crust begins to turn golden, about 15 minutes.  Let cool completely in tins on wire rack.  Gently remove tarts from muffin tin.  I like to slip a spoon in a bit to wedge them out carefully.  I'm sure you could also place a plate on top and carefully flip the tin, emptying out the tarts.