Tag Archives: holiday recipe

Mini Chocolate Pecan Tarts for the Holidays!

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2-chocolate-pecan-butter-tart-recipe-thanksgiving-christmas-holidays-mini-dessert-easy3-chocolate-pecan-butter-tart-recipe-thanksgiving-christmas-holidays-mini-dessert-easychocolate-pecan-butter-tart-recipe-thanksgiving-christmas-holidays-mini-dessert-easy CHOCOLATE PECAN TARTS / WHITNEY / CC BY 2.0

Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner and these chocolate pecan tarts are the perfect dessert to make during this time of year! I love the look of mini-desserts that don’t require cutting like a cake and are more of a grab and go type of dessert. I will assure you on this one, these pecan tarts will be a favorite dessert anywhere you take them. The crumbly crust and gooey soft inside – there really is nothing like them! 

Aside from preparing my holiday baking, I have piled myself up with a ton of housework. My apologies for not posting on this blog for a while now! To cut down on some chores, I decided to do some home renovations that would make my life a little easier. After a long summer of trying to keep my grass green, I finally decided to rip it out and settle for artificial grass from Grono Lawns. Real grass feels amazing, but I just couldn’t do the up-keep any longer. If any chance you are considering installing artificial grass, make sure to ask the artificial grass company if they will do the installation first. We attempted to do it ourselves at first and made a huge mess – get it done professionally to save money and time in the long run!

Now back to these delicious pecan tarts! These make WONDERFUL gifts and can easily be wrapped up and tied with a ribbon. It looks like an amazing customized and hand-made gift that really doesn’t cost that much to make. Hope you enjoy and happy holidays!

Mini Chocolate Pecan Tarts

Easy chocolate pecan tarts for the holidays!
 
Ingredients:
 
For Tart Crust
 
  1. 2 Cups of unsalted butter
  2. 5 Cups all-purpose white flour
  3. 1 Cup of water
For Tart Filling
 
  1. ½ Cup of sugar
  2. 1 Tbsp all-purpose white flour
  3. 4 Large eggs
  4. 1 Cup of corn syrup
  5. 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
  6. 2/3 Cup chopped pecans (or you can use walnuts)
  7. 2/3 Chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)
  8. 1.5 Cups pecan halves

Instructions:

To Make Crust
 
  1. 1. Prepare tart pans by greasing with PAM spray or greasing with butter and flour. In a mixing bowl, combine butter and flour, gradually sprinkling in water and mixing together until dough forms.
  2. 2. On a floured surface roll out the dough to a 1/8” inch thickness. Cut 6-inch circles and fit into the prepared tart pans, cutting off the extra on the sides. If you have individual tart pans/cups, place them all on a baking sheet now. Preheat your oven to 325 F.
To Make Filling
 
  1. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour and sugar. Mix in eggs, corn syrup, and butter until well combined. Mix in the chopped pecans and chocolate chips.
  2. Using a soup ladle, evenly divide the mixture between the tart pans. Place pecan halves at the top of the tartlets and bake for 25 minutes or until the edges of the tarts are golden. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool overnight.

Apple Spice Walnut Cake with Caramel Icing

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CARAMEL APPLE CAKE / SHARI’S BERRIES / CC BY

Cinnamon, apples, brown sugar, caramel, and walnuts are the perfect combination for a cozy cold-weather dessert! This apple spice bunt cake is very moist and dense, and makes the perfect after-dinner dessert or simple cake to eat with tea or coffee. Apples are super cheap this season which makes this the ideal cake to use up some in-season fruits you may have stored in the cupboard!

Apple Spice Walnut Cake with Caramel Icing

 
An apple bundt cake loaded with walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg with drizzled caramel
on top!
 
Ingredients:
 
For Cake
 
  1. 1.5 cups vegetable oil
  2. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  3. ½ cup brown sugar
  4. 3 large eggs
  5. 3 cups of flour
  6. 2 tsp cinnamon
  7. 1 tsp baking soda
  8. 1 tsp nutmeg
  9. Pinch of salt
  10. 3.5 cups of apples, peeled and diced into small squares
  11. 1 cup of chopped walnuts, toasted
  12. 2 tsp vanilla extract
For Icing
 
  1. ½ cup brown sugar
  2. 1/3 cup half-and-half cream
  3. ¼ cup butter, cut into chunks
  4. Pinch of salt
  5. 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

To Make Cake
 
  1. Preheat oven to 325 F and grease and flour a bundt pan.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, combine oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract and combine it with the dry mixture.
  3. Fold in chopped apples and walnuts. Pour into prepared pan and back for 1.5 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  4. Remove from oven and cool in pan before transferring to a wire rack.
To Make Cake
 
  1. Preheat oven to 325 F and grease and flour a bundt pan.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, combine oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract and combine it with the dry mixture.
  3. Fold in chopped apples and walnuts. Pour into prepared pan and back for 1.5 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  4. Remove from oven and cool in pan before transferring to a wire rack.
To Make Caramel Icing
 
  1. Place brown sugar, cream, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly until dissolved.
  2. Pour into a small bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Drizzle over cooled bundt cake and enjoy!