Mini pecan tarts, brown sugar, pecans and melted butter, enrobed in a cream cheese tart dough, are the perfect two-bite dessert.
These tarts are a quick and easy recipe, which you can mix up in one bowl--both tart dough and pecan filling--with a spatula. No electric mixer necessary.
Looking for more pie recipes? You'll love Brown Butter Pecan Pie + Espresso Dates: A Thanksgiving Star or Pumpkin Pie Recipe, Only 2 cups Pumpkin Puree Needed.
Why You'll Love These Tarts
- They are a decadent two-bite dessert, perfect for a small gathering.
- They freeze well. Make a batch and just remove what you need from the freezer, warm them up in a toaster oven or air fryer for a minute or two.
- These tiny pies are the perfect dessert for the fall and winter holidays.
Recipe Details
- No electric mixer required. Use one if you like but you can get this made with a sturdy spatula.
- Brown sugar and pecans baked to a chewy goodness.
- The tart dough is foolproof and quick, no rolling out required.
- Use either butter or margarine for the dough. I used a stick of Imperial margarine.
- Butter --just two tablespoons is recommended for the filling but you could use margarine.
Ingredients for Miniature Pecan Butter Tarts
How to Make This Recipe
- Make the tart dough by mixing room temperature cream cheese, butter or margarine and flour in a bowl until a dough forms.
- Chop pecans into fine pieces no larger than a pea.
- Make filling of pecans, brown sugar, melted butter and egg.
- Make one-inch rounds of dough and press one into the mini muffin cavities. Use a tart tamper or the end of a muddler to form the tart shape.
- Fill tarts with pecan filling.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350F.
Variations
- Add a few chocolate chips to the bottom of each tart before filling with pecan mixture.
- Swap out the pecans for walnuts.
- Drizzle baked pecan miniature tarts with caramel after removing from the oven.
Each Mini Pecan Tart contains 65 calories.
Toasting pecans for just a few minutes at a low temperature in the oven or in a skillet on the stove top can enhance the flavor of pecans before baking in a pecan pie.
Mini Pecan Tarts
Mini pecan tarts are a quick and easy recipe, which you can mix up in one bowl--both tart dough and pecan filling--with a spatula. No electric mixer necessary.
Ingredients
- Tart Shells:
- ½ cup (125 mL) butter or margarine, softened
- 3 oz (90 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
- Pecan Filling:
- 2 tablespoon (30 mL) butter or margarine, melted
- ¾ cup (175 mL) packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla
- 1 cup (250 mL) pecan halves, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
Make tart shells:
Beat butter and room temperature cream cheese in a medium bowl until well blended, maybe two minutes. Add flour and mix until you’ve formed a ball. The dough willl be tacky but not sticky.
Shape dough into one-inch balls. Place each ball in a non-stick mini muffin tin.
Using either a tart tamper or your thumb or the end of cocktail muddler or the end of an ice cream scoop to form little cups of dough in each muffin tin hole.
Make the filling:
Finely chop pecans or bash them with a meat mallet inside a resealable bag. You’ll want the pieces to be pea sized or smaller. They are doing into a filling to be spooned into a tiny tart.
Melt butter in a large mixing bowl. Stir in brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract.
Add chopped pecans and mix.
Fill each tart approximately one teaspoon to 1.5-teaspoons of pecan mixture.
Don’t overfill.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350.
When tarts are done baking, they will be a light, golden brown.
Let tarts cool in the mini-muffin pan placed on a wire rack for three to five minutes.
Remove and sprinkle with powdered sugar if you like.
If the filling oozes out of any tarts and is stuck to the pan, loosen with a butter knife or just gently twist the tart until you free it from the pan.
Notes
Brown Sugar Substitute: If you don’t have any brown sugar on hand, then make your own using granulated sugar. Stir one cup of granulated sugar together with one tablespoon of molasses until everything is evenly combined.
VARIATIONS
Caramel - Add a touch of sticky, caramel sweetness to the pecan tarts with a caramel topping. Combine about 15 unwrapped caramels with a tablespoon of milk in a saucepan over low heat. Once the mixture is smooth, you can spoon it over the cooled pecan tarts.
Chocolate - Chocolate is a welcome variation to just about any dessert. Mix in a handful of chocolate chips to your filling before baking for an easy chocolate pecan tart. Any type of chocolate chips will do.
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