Individual Maple Pecan Tarts Recipe

Directions:

1. Pastry: add flour, salt, and sugar to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade.
2. Turn the machine on/off two or three times just to mix the ingredients.
3. Add the butter and let the machine run for about 5 seconds until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
4. With the machine running, add the yolks and water through the feed tube and process just until the mixture forms a ball.
5. Remove dough and form it into a perfectly even fat sausage shape with flat ends, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
6. When you are ready to roll out the dough, cut it into 6 equal pieces (they must be exactly the same size).
7. The dough will be too firm to roll immediately; let it stand for a few minutes; flour a pastry cloth and a rolling pin.
8. Place a piece of the firm dough on the cloth and press down on it with the rolling pin to soften it a bit, then roll it into a circle 6 inches wide.
9. This dough may be turned over once or twice during rolling, if you wish, to keep both sides lightly floured and to prevent sticking; the cloth and rolling pin should be lightly refloured as necessary.
10. After rolling out a circle of dough, use anything round and 6 inches in diameter as a pattern (she recommends using a 6-inch flan ring), place it on the dough, and with a small sharp knife cut around the rim to form a perfect circle.
11. Then fit the dough into the individual pans.
12. With your fingers gently turn in the edge of the pastry to form a narrow hem; the folded edge of the hem should be a bit higher than the top of the pan (with no low spots or the filling will run over).
13. The top of the rim will crack slightly when the dough is folded; it is ok.
14. Press the double thickness of pastry firmly together against the inside of the pan.
15. With pastry pincers, or with tines of a fork, make a neat, ridged design on the rim; place the lined pans in the freezer or refrigerator to become firm.
16. Filling: In a small bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs to mix.
17. On low speed, beating only to mix, add the maple syrup, sugar, vanilla, melted butter, and rum.
18. When you are ready to bake, position oven rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven; preheat oven to 350°.
19. Place the individual pans lined w/ pastry on a jelly-roll pan or a cookie sheet.
20. Divide the pecans among the pans, placing them casually, but preferably with the rounded sides up if you are using nut halves.
21. Transfer filling to a pitcher that is easy to pour from and pour the filling evenly into the pans, pouring in a slow stream to wet the tops of the nuts.
22. Do not fill the pie shells completely at first—if you use too much filling in one shell, there might not be enough to go around.
23. The filling should almost, but not quite, reach to the tops of the crusts.
24. Bake for 30 minutes, reversing the position of the jelly-roll pan front to back once after about 20 minutes to ensure even browning.
25. After 30 minutes the rims should be golden brown.
26. Remove from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes; to remove the tarts from the pans—place a pan on a small, narrow jar or other object; the sides should slip down easily, but they might need a little help from you.
27. Then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the tart from the bottom of the pan to a rack to cool.
28. May serve plain, or with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.