Butterscotch Pecan Mini Tarts Recipes

BUTTERSCOTCH-PECAN MINI TARTS

Steps:

• Heat oven 350ºF.
• Combine flour, nuts, sugar and butter; press onto bottoms of 20 paper-lined mini muffin cups. Bake 15 min. or until lightly browned. Cool.
• Reserve about 1 Tbsp. of the melted chocolate for later use. Spoon remaining chocolate over crusts; refrigerate 5 min. or until firm.
• Beat pudding mix and milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min. Stir in COOL WHIP; spoon over crusts. Drizzle with reserved melted chocolate. Refrigerate 3 hours.

TINY PECAN TARTS

Steps:

• To Make Pastry: Cream butter or margarine and cream cheese. Add flour and mix well. Make into 48 balls; place one ball in each cup of a mini tart pan. Use your fingers or a tart tamper to press out into a tart shell.
• To Make Filling: Break the eggs, but do not beat. Add sugar, melted butter, salt, vanilla and pecans. Mix well. Fill the tart shells. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for about 30 minutes or until delicately browned.

BUTTERSCOTCH PIE WITH PECAN-SHORTBREAD CRUST

Steps:

• Crust: Preheat oven to 375°F. Toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet until fragrant and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes, then finely grind in a food processor. Add flour and salt to food processor and pulse just to combine.
• In a bowl, stir together butter and granulated sugar; stir in egg yolk. Add flour-pecan mixture and stir until mixture has the texture of fine crumbs and holds together when pressed between two fingers. Press evenly into bottom and up sides of an 8 1/4-by-11-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.
• Freeze pan 15 minutes, then transfer to oven and bake until set and deep golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool 15 minutes.
• Filling: Meanwhile, in a saucepan, whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in egg yolks, then milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Pour filling into crust and let cool 15 minutes. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of filling and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.
• Pecans: Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. In a small bowl, stir together pecans, sugar, salt, and egg white. Spread mixture into an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring once, until golden brown and crunchy, about 15 minutes. Separate clumped nuts with a fork; let cool completely. Pecans can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.
• To serve pie, remove plastic wrap, then sides of pan; transfer pie to a platter. Decorate with sugared pecans, cut into squares, and serve.

MINI PECAN TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup margarine (NOT butter) and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir in egg yolks, almond extract, and sifted flour.
• Spray tiny muffin cups with non-stick spray. Press mixture evenly into tiny muffin cups. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
• To make Filling: Bring to a boil 1/2 cup margarine, corn syrup, and confectioner's sugar. Stir in chopped pecans.
• Spoon into shells no more than 1/2 way. Top with pecan halves. Bake in a 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) oven for 5 minutes.

BUTTERSCOTCH PECAN TART WITH SCOTCH-SPIKED WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• For crust:
• Blend flour, sugar, and sea salt in processor. Add butter to processor; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk cream and egg yolk in small bowl to blend. Add cream mixture to processor; using on/off turns, blend until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.
• Roll out dough disk on lightly floured surface to 14-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Press dough firmly onto bottom and up sides of pan. Trim dough overhang, allowing 1/4 inch of dough to extend above sides of pan. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line crust with foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake crust until sides are set and light golden, about 35 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Continue to bake crust until golden and cooked through, about 15 minutes longer. Cool crust in pan on rack. Maintain oven temperature.
• For filling:
• Cook butter in heavy small skillet over medium-high heat until beginning to brown, about 21/2 minutes. Add brown sugar and whipping cream and bring to boil, whisking to blend. Boil 1 minute. Transfer butterscotch to medium bowl and cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
• Whisk egg yolks and flour in another medium bowl to blend. Whisk in vanilla. Gradually add yolk mixture to butterscotch; whisk until filling is smooth. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and sea salt in large bowl until soft peaks form. Fold whites into filling in 2 additions.
• Spread 1 cup toasted pecans over bottom of crust; pour filling evenly over pecans. Sprinkle 1/4 cup pecans over.
• Bake tart until filling is set in center and top is deep brown, 26 to 28 minutes. Transfer tart to rack and cool in pan at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool completely. Cover and store at room temperature.
• For scotch-spiked whipped cream:
• Beat cream, brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon Scotch in large bowl until soft peaks form, adding 1 more tablespoon Scotch, if desired.
• Remove sides from tart pan. Cut tart into wedges and serve with Scotch-spiked whipped cream.