Posts Tagged ‘Tarts’

Decadent Pecan Tarts

Saturday, December 20th, 2008


These are my favorite pecan tarts! I made them before here. They are great to make and store in the freezer until you need em!

Heres the recipe again!

Decadent Mini Pecan Tarts


Ingredients: 

  • 20-24 Tart Shells – If frozen, take out of the freezer before you begin for about 5-10 mins
  • chopped pecans
  • pecan halves – one for each tart
  • Semi Sweet Chocolate – broken up into small chunks (Bakers secret or any other rich chocolate)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup dark corn syrup
  • 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325º F.
  2. Place tart shells on baking sheet – about 20-24 on a large baking sheet
  3. In the bottom of each tart, add 1 tablespoon (or more) chocolate chunks and 1 tablespoon + chopped pecans, then place a pecan half on top of each.
  4. In a mixing bowl:-whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla. Pour the filling over the pecans, just until it almost reaches the top of the sides of the tarts.
  5. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the crust is golden, and the middle is set. Remove from the oven and transfer with a lifter to wire racks to cool
Enjoy!
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Tarting it up!..again

Friday, October 17th, 2008

I know, only my second post and it’s more tarts? Well here’s why. My moms friend was going to Costco one day, and asked if she needed anything for thanksgiving. My mom then called me and asked what I thought we should get from Costco. I told her I planned on making pumpkin tarts and that they were cheaper at Costco than at Thrifty Foods or Safeway. So she told her to get some for us.
…Well, she came back with more than just some tarts, she had a box of 180! Seeing as how I had never made any kind of tarts before, 180 was more than enough! So my mom and I joked that I guess we would be eating a lot of tarts/quiches in the next little while! So it’s a rainy Friday, and we needed something to take to a party tomorrow night so I decided what the heck, why not tart it up again.

After searching and searching for a recipe for pecan tarts (harder than it sounds!) I found one and made it my own with a few changes.

I didn’t put any measurements for the pecans and chocolate ..because you can never have too many of either. So use as many as your heart desires!…as long as there’s still room for the filling.

Chocolate Chunk Mini Pecan Tarts
Ingredients:
20-24 Tart Shells – If frozen, take out of the freezer before you begin for about 5-10 mins
chopped pecans
pecan halves – one for each tart
Semi Sweet Chocolate – broken up into small chunks (Bakers secret or any other rich chocolate)
3 eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup dark corn syrup

1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325º F.
  2. Place tart shells on baking sheet – about 20-24 on a large baking sheet
  3. In the bottom of each tart, add 1 tablespoon (or more) chocolate chunks and 1 tablespoon + chopped pecans, then place a pecan half on top of each.
  4. In a mixing bowl:
    -whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla. Pour the filling over the pecans, just until it almost reaches the top of the sides of the tarts.
  5. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the crust is golden, and the middle is set. Remove from the oven and transfer with a lifter to wire racks to cool

I always love pecan pie/tarts served with ice cream, or whip cream. I like them when they’ve been out of the oven for about 30 mins, while they’re still soft and puddingish, but I also love them when their hard and candy like.
Pecan Tarts are always good for a rainy afternoon..especially when you live in Vancouver! Betcha can’t eat just one.. I know I couldn’t!

Enjoy!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

So here in Canada it was thanksgiving this weekend! Of course I was in charge of two things, decorating the table and baking. Last year I made this pecan pie, which I saw on Martha Stewart one day. I have actually never made a pumpkin pie and decided I wanted to this year! Well, I guess technically I still haven’t. I made a large pumpkin tart, and little pumpkin tartlets.

My aunt gave me a large tart pan for Christmas and I still haven’t christened it! So I decided it was time to tart it up!..or at least bake one. For my birthday my boss bought me a new cookbook, this book, Baking: From my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. So I decided to look through it for a potential thanksgiving recipe! I came across the recipe for a pumpkin pie/tart and gave it a try. It was sooo good. I made it a week or two ago for a dinner with my cousins, so I could test it out! It was de-lish. So I decided it would be a great thanksgiving dessert. You can make this as a pie, but if you use it for a large tart, you have enough filling left over for little tarts! which is what I did.

If you love pumpkin pie {like me!}, I would definitely try it as a tart!

Here’s the recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie (or Tart)
(If you make this as a tart, you’ll have filling left over, which you can use to make mini-tartlets; bake the minis at 400 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes.)

- makes 6 to 8 servings -
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

Ingredients:

1 9-inch single crust Pie Dough , partially baked and cooled, or one 9-inch tart shell , partially baked and cooled
2 cups (canned) unsweetened pumpkin puree
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons dark rum <— I left this one out!**
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Lightly sweetened lightly whipped cream, for topping

Directions:

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat and put the pie plate (or tart pan) on it.

Put all of the filling ingredients in a food processor and process for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Alternatively, you can whisk the ingredients together vigorously in a mixing bowl. Rap either the work bowl or mixing bowl against the counter to burst any surface bubbles, and pour the filling into the crust.

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300°F and continue to bake for 35 to 45 minutes longer (20 to 25 minutes for a tart), or until a knife inserted close to the center comes out clean. (If you don’t want to create a slash in your masterpiece, tap the pan gently—if the custard doesn’t jiggle, or only jiggles a teensy bit in the very center, it’s done.) Transfer the pie (or tart) to a rack and cool to room temperature.

Serving: Pumpkin pie and whipped cream are naturals and, if you’ve tested the pie’s doneness with a knife, you might want to serve the whipped cream as a cover-up. I like this pie chilled, but others are fans of it at room temperature – decide for yourself.

Storing: Like most pies, this one is best served the day it is made. However, you can make the pie early in the day and keep it refrigerated until needed.

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