Pecan Pie & Pecan Tarts

My Grandma and I have begun seriously preparing for Christmas. Although this Christmas will be very weird as gatherings will be small or non-existant, we don't see that as any reason not to have Christmas baking to enjoy and hopefully send to family and friends. A few weeks ago we spent a whole day making a big batch of two tart recipes that are quite Canadian and go very well together: pecan tarts, and butter tarts. Butter tarts and pecan tarts taste and look very similar, the main difference being that butter tarts have raisins in the filling and pecan tarts use a traditional pecan pie filling recipe with pecans instead of raisins. For this reason, I prefer pecan tarts, but butter tarts evoke warm memories of Christmas at home and church suppers - in the best way. So I love them both. I am posting my grandma's pecan pie recipe first, but will follow up soon with the butter tarts recipe as well.

My grandmother told me when we were making these that she has only ever used one pecan pie recipe. She got it years ago from a friend, and the recipe is called "Southern Pecan Pie or Tarts" in her recipe box. She said it has always served her well, so she's just never tried another. And my grandma's pecan pies are always delicious. So this recipe has 40 or 50 years of love behind it.

Similarly to my previous pie recipe, I am only including the recipe for the filling here. I suggest that for the pastry you use the tenderflake lard recipe, or another trusted recipe, and just follow the instructions carefully. You could even make this pie in a frozen storebought bought shell since it doesn't require a top layer of pastry. Similarly, use could use frozen storebought tart shells if you're making the tarts, and wary of making pastry crust.

Southern Pecan Pie or Tarts

Ingredients: 

• Shortcrust pastry for one pie or 24 tarts, prepared according to your own recipe (NOTE: you can also use a frozen pie crust or frozen pastry shells, which are fairly easy to find)
  
  For the filling:
• 1 1/4 cup pecan halves (or chopped pecans are fine if you're making tarts)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 c light corn syrup
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions for a pie: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
2. Prepare the shortcrust pastry for one pie shell according to your own recipe. 
3. Line a pie plate with pastry and add in enough pecan halves in to cover the bottom in a single layer
4. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Add all the remaining filling ingredients and mix well.
5. Pour the batter slowly and evenly over the pecans
6. Leave the unbaked pie to sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes until the pecans float to the top
7. Bake at 350 degrees F or 45 minutes, until the crust is beginning to brown on the edges
8. Let cool slightly and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or lightly whipped cream

Directions for tarts: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and gather two sets of muffin tins
2. Roll out your pastry on a clean, floured surface
3. Using a cutter or small bowl, cut the pastry into large circles, and place each piece of pastry into a muffin hole. The pastry should come fully to the top of the muffin hole. Squeeze the sides out a little so the dough folds are pressed together, and the crust is of a fairly even thickness all the way around
4. Drop a pecan half or some chopped pecans in the bottom of each tart shell - either one pecan half, or enough to chopped pecans to just cover the bottom
5. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Add all the remaining filling ingredients and mix well.
6. Pour a little filling into every tart shell, but don't fill the tart up more than halfway. During baking, the filling will rise significantly, and if the shells are too full, they will stick to the muffin tin making for less pretty tarts, and problems getting them out of the pan.
7. Bake the tarts at 350 degrees F until the crust looks baked - about 15 to 25 minutes.
8. Let cool, and serve for an afternoon treat, or after a meal. These tarts are perfect additions to Christmas Baking trays.