bakekrazy

With the bakery closed for the season and the holidays approaching I’m doing a lot more baking from my home kitchen. Because of the pandemic, I also spend a lot of time in the house with my wife. So today we decided to make one of the recipes from her recipe box together. I love my wife but working on any projects together bring up another level of patience…….because we hardly ever agree. We worked 30 years together in our business but she always knew her place…...I was the boss……. and if you ask her, she would agree. But after several years together in semi-retirement she has slowly moved up the ladder. To keep peace I hold my tongue, as she explains how to assemble, fill and bake the recipe she claims to have made since the beginning of time. I do like making individual desserts and this one is easy and fast and best of all it taste great.

Ingredients (crust)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
3oz. cream cheese

Filling
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (soften)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup chopped pecans

To make the crust; with a hand mixer cream together the flour, butter and cream cheese until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 3 hours.
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. You will need a 24 mini cupcake pan and 24 mini cupcake liners.
To make the filling; In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add the brown sugar, butter, egg and vanilla extract beat at a medium speed until light and fluffy. Stir in the chopped pecans, then set aide. Pull the dough from the refrigerator and on a lightly flour surface, roll the dough out to about 3/16″ thickness. With a two inch round cutter cut 24 round disks of dough. Take and flatten the paper liner and place one dough disk in the middle, then place it into the mini cupcake pan and press down slightly allowing the dough to take the shape of the pan. (Do not press hard when the filling is added the dough will drop and seat itself). Fill each dough with about a teaspoon of filling to the top of the edge of the dough. Bake in the middle rack for 25 minutes. Cool slightly and remove each tart to a cooling rack.

Enjoy
Chef Brian Klauss