Pecan Sand Tarts Recipe

Pecan Sand Tarts Recipe

  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed and free of lumps
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup coarsely grated bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (about 2 ounces)
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  1. Chop the pecans rather finely but don't pulverize into a powder. Set aside. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
  2. Combine the butter and both sugars in a large mixing bowl. Using a handheld electric mixer set at medium-high or creaming speed, beat until light and fluffy for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bowl once or twice with rubber spatula.
  3. Add the vanilla extract and egg and beat 30 seconds longer.
  4. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Stir in the chopped pecans and mix well. Stir in the flour and mix only until blended.
  5. Gather the dough into a ball in the center of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 1/2 hours.
  6. When ready to bake, combine the grated chocolate and the granulated sugar and set aside.
  7. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a baking sheet.
  8. Dampen your fingertips with cold water. Using level tablespoons of batter for each cookie, shape the dough into bars about 3/4 to 1 inch wide and 2 1/2 inches long, patting into shape with your fingers.
  9. Place the bars on the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
  10. Set the pan of cookies in the center of the preheated oven on the middle shelf and bake the cookies for 8 minutes.
  11. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the cookie tops with some of the chocolate-sugar mixture, using about 1 teaspoon per cookie. Return the cookies to the oven, reverse pan from front to back, and bake for 5 to 7 minutes longer, or until lightly browned and the topping is melted.
  12. Remove the cookies from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 2 or 3 minutes, and then remove from the pan with a metal spatula and cool completely on the rack.
  13. Bake the remaining cookies, one pan at a time, in the same way.
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