No Time 2 Cook Recipe of the Week: Pecan Pie Tarts

The recipe for these Pecan Pie Tarts came from my mama’s best friend and next door neighbor of 45 years, Ms. Betty Robinson.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Ms. Betty made her Southern Pecan Pies into the most delectable mini pie tarts you have ever tasted.  She stacked them in a pretty glass covered cake plate that stayed in the middle of her breakfast table.
Ms. Betty and Mama got together every afternoon for 5:00 coffee and Ms. Betty’s Pecan Pie Tarts were the standard treat during the holidays.  I never turned down an invitation to join them when I was home for a visit.  These were memorable times with two precious gentle Southern women and I miss them dearly.
If you prepare full size pecan pies, this recipe yields 2 traditional pecan pies as well.  Click here for directions, time, and temp for large pies. You can find more of Karen’s family recipes and her frozen products, online at notime2cook.com.
Ingredients:

• 20 mini tart shells (found frozen in your grocery freezer)
• 1 stick salted butter (browned)
• 1 cup light Karo syrup
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 beaten eggs
• ½ t lemon juice
• 1 t. pure vanilla (I prefer Molena which I purchase at a Mexican grocery)
• ⅛ t. salt (1/4 if you use unsalted butter)
• 2 – 2.5 cups broken pecan pieces

Instructions:

1. Thaw pie shells and re-crimp edges with a fork if you want pretty edges
2. Brown butter to a nutty brown color (cool slightly)
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees while mixing ingredients.
4. Mix Karo, sugar, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, salt, and slightly cooled browned butter.
5. Place pie shells on a cookie sheet.  Divide pecans evenly among the tart shells.
6. Divide filling between the tarts taking care not to drip on the cookie sheet. Push pecan pieces down into filling so that all are well coated.
7. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 325 and continue baking 20-25 minutes.
8. Pies are done when an inserted knife comes out pretty clean.
9. These tarts freezer beautifully so can be prepared way ahead of time. If freezing, cool completely and slide tarts into freezer bags.

In 2005, Karen Kurr began selling her Cajun and southern dishes at local farmers markets. Today, her frozen meals are still made from scratch in Oxford, Mississippi, and sold in 200 Kroger stores, independent retailers and online. Karen’s passion is simple: to help bring families back to the dinner table. Her products make dinner easier when you are short on time. Karen continues to share family recipes with loyal customers on hottytoddy.com, the NoTime2Cook website and on social media.