Ingredients
Filling
1 Egg
3/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 cup chopped Pecans
Pastry
3 oz Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt (if using unsalted butter)
3 Tablespoons Ice Water
Glaze
2 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoon Half-and-Half
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 375.
In a bowl whisk egg. Add dark brown sugar, butter, salt and pecans. Stir to combine and set aside.
Either with a stand mixer or by hand with a pastry cutter mix butter, cream cheese and flour into dough. Add ice water a tablespoon at a time until the pastry dough holds well together.
Pastry will be sticky, so when working with dough, you will want to be sure to flour surfaces, tools and your hands as you work with the pastry.
Roll out dough into a rough rectangle and cut into pairs. The dough will roughly make 8-12 hand tarts, depending on the size. You can freehand cut, use a ruler, or use biscuit or other cutters to make pastry pairs.
Once dough is rolled, trimmed, and cut into pairs, add to one half of each pair 1-2 heaping tablespoons of pecan filling. Spread with a spoon, allowing a boarder for the pastry halves to meet up for crimping. The amount of filling you add will depend on the size and number of tarts you are cutting. Wet edges of the pastry for a better seal when crimping.
Pair up pastry halves, crimp and transfer to a parchment lined baking pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 18-20 minutes.
Remove from oven when lightly browned and let rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack for glazing.
In a small saucepan melt butter with sugar and maple syrup.
Cook until sugar is dissolved and the mixture lightly bubbles at the edges.
Slowly whisk butter mixture into the sifted powdered sugar to ensure a smooth glaze adding half-and-half a little bit at a time until the glaze is the right consistency to coat the tarts.
Working quickly, spoon or pipe glaze over tarts.
Top glazed tarts with sprinkles, flake salt, chopped pecans, etc. if desired.
Allow to air dry for the glaze to set.
Recipe makes 8-12 hand tarts, depending on size of pairs
