Pecan Tassies
Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
(Dough)
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) cream cheese
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
(Filling)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the dough: Process pecans in a food processor until finely ground (you should have about 1/3 cup); set aside. Put cream cheese and butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until well blended. Add flour, ground pecans, and salt; mix just until dough comes together.
Roll dough into sixteen 1-inch balls, and press into bottoms and up sides of cups of mini-muffin tins. You may need to use some flour on your hands to stop it from sticking to you. Keep tart shells in the fridge while making the filling.
Make the filling: Whisk the egg, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, butter, and salt in a small bowl. Stir in pecans. Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons filling into each muffin cup.
Bake pecan tassies until crust begins to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely in tins on wire rack. Unmold. Pecan tassies can be stored in single layers in airtight containers up to 3 days.
Lemon Bars
Ingredients:
- ½ pound unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅛ tsp. salt
(Filling)
- 6 large eggs
- 3 cups sugar
- 2½ tablespoons grated lemon zest, packed
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Method:
For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and with mixer on low, add to sugar mixture until just combined. Gather dough into a ball and press into a 9 X 13 inch pan, pressing the edges up the sides about a ½ inch. Chill in freezer for 15 minutes.
Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, until edges start to brown. Let cool while making filling.
Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling is set. Cool to room temperature before slicing.
Flourless Dark Chocolate Brownies with Queen Mother Icing
Ingredients:
(Brownies)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup special dark cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
(Queen Mother Ganache)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 tsp instant coffee
- 16 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 2/3 cups)
Method:
While the brownies are cooling, make the queen mother ganache. Heat the cream in a sauce pan over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge. Whisk in instant coffee until dissolved, then add in chocolate and whisk about 30 seconds. Now remove from the heat and continue to whisk until ganache is completely smooth. Pour ganache over brownies and put in the freezer for about a half hour. You want them to be chilled and set enough to cut without the knife catching in the chocolate. The brownies are really moist and crumbly, and the ganache becomes like fudge so it wants to stick on the knife. While you are cutting, keep wiping off the knife of excess chocolate to get a clean cut.
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