Basic sweet pastry
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt
9 oz cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Mix flour, sugar and salt together in a food processor. Add butter, and using the pulse button, mix until the dough resembles coarse crumbs. Pour the water and vanilla through the feed tube of the processor and pulse just until the dough comes together.
Maple pecan butter tarts
Ingredients:
1 recipe basic sweet pastry, with 2/3 cup pecans, toasted and very finely chopped, added to the flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
16 pecan halves (for garnish)
Divide pastry into 16 pieces. Press each piece into a muffin tin and centre over the bottom, finishing up on the sides of each cup. The pastry should be an even 1/4-inch all around. Chill tart shells in tin in the freezer for half an hour before baking to prevent shrinkage.
Preheat oven to 400F. Blend the remaining ingredients, except pecan halves, in a food processor until smooth.
Place the chilled tart shells in the centre rack of the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let shells cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F. Pour filling into each tart shell until it reaches just below the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until filling is just set. As soon as you remove the tarts from the oven, garnish each with a toasted pecan half. Let tarts cool completely before removing from tins.
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