My easy, sweet pecan tartlets are the perfect decadent dessert for Fall with their tender shortcrust pastry filled with rich pecan pie filling. These perfectly portioned tarts are the very best way to enjoy some mini pecan pies. Plus each bite is amazingly satisfying with a great balance of crust to filling!
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Pecan pie is one of my favorites and if it’s one of yours, you’ll love this recipe. I’ve made it perfect for sharing with my easy-to-make individual pecan tartlets.
They’re divine with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Pecan tartlets are incredible on a holiday dinner table, or anytime you want an indulgent dessert.
I love getting kiddos in the kitchen to help press out the pastry dough into the pans—connecting over food is one of the best parts of the holiday season!
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
So Indulgent! Everyone needs a little indulgence now and then! My pecan tartlets are the perfect dessert for your sweet tooth fix.
Make it Ahead! You can make the pastry dough ahead of time to make assembly easier! You can also freeze unbaked tart shells, or even baked pecan tartlets to take the pressure off making dessert!
Perfect Fall Dessert! Pecan pie desserts are the unsung hero of the fall flavors! They’re sweet, nutty, and taste exactly like the holidays!
🥘 Ingredients
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
- Butter— You want the butter to be unsalted and softened at room temperature, so it incorporates into the dough easily.
- Sugar – This will sweeten our dough just a bit! I like to use granulated white sugar for this.
- Egg – It’s a good idea to have the egg beaten beforehand so it seamlessly incorporates into the dough.
- All-Purpose Flour – The base of the dough! Make sure you use all-purpose flour here and not cake flour or self-rising flour because it will affect the texture of the dough.
- Vanilla – I like to add a little vanilla extract to the dough for that sweet, bakery flavor!
- Salt – This just helps to round out the flavors of the dough. You can use good ol’ table salt here!
Pecan Filling
- Corn Syrup – In pecan pie, corn syrup gives that delicious ooey gooey filling we all love!
- Light Brown Sugar – Brown sugar is classic for any pecan pie recipe. It gives sweetness and that rich caramel flavor!
- Melted Butter – Its crucial to use melted butter here so that it fully incorporates into the pie filling. Make sure it’s cooled a little to – so it doesn’t accidentally scramble the eggs!
- Egg – The egg will help to bind the filling! I always make sure the egg is beaten beforehand to help it incorporate.
- Vanilla – Vanilla helps to add that delicious, classic flavor! Try to use 100% pure vanilla extract if you can.
- Pecans – I like them to be chopped or crushed for the small tartlets and separated into two portions. (See Tips & Recipe Notes)
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🧂 Substitutions
If you’re running short on time, you can use pre-packaged pie dough instead of making your own! Alternatively, you can make the dough ahead of time and freeze portions for whenever you’re ready to bake.
🔪 Instructions
My individually portioned pecan tartlets are the perfect sweet treat for fall! If you make the pastry ahead of time, assembly will be even easier!
Make the Pastry Dough
- Cream butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, beat ½ cup (one stick) of softened butter and then add ¼ cup white sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Gradually add in 1 large beaten egg and then 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract into the creamed butter and sugar mixture.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour and ⅛ teaspoon of salt, whisking to incorporate the salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet and ingredients and then mix until you have a rough, loose crumbled dough.
- Chill the dough. Gather your dough into a ball with your hands and place it onto a sheet of plastic cling film. Wrap and flatten it into a disc using your hand, then refrigerate and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Shape the pastry dough. Once the dough is chilled, portion out 6 even pieces and place onto buttered, greased, or sprayed 4-inch tart pans. Using clean fingers, press the dough into an even layer of the bottom and then work up sides of the tart pan.
You want the dough to be thin, but not so thin you can see to the tart pan. Return the tart shells to the fridge to chill while you move onto the next step.
Make the Pecan Filling
- Mix the filling. In a medium mixing bowl, combine ⅓ cup of light corn syrup, ¼ cup of light brown sugar, 1 ½ tablespoon of melted butter, 1 large egg, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until well mixed. Then, add the first ½ cup portion of chopped pecans and stir to combine. Set aside.
Assemble the Pecan Tartlets
- Prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and remove the tart pans from the refrigerator and place onto a baking sheet for easy transportation.
- Assemble the tartlets. With a spoon or small ladle, portion the pecan filling out into the 6 tartlet pans evenly. You can top with the additional ½ cup chopped, crushed or whole pecans if desired!
- Bake. Place the baking sheet with the tartlets into the center of your oven’s middle rack at 350°F (175°C) for 25 minutes, or until the filling is set (and no longer jiggles when you move the pans around).
- Serve! When the tartlets are done, remove them from the oven and allow to cool in the tart pans on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before popping out of the tins. Allow the tartlets to cool completely before serving.
🥗🥘🍲 Best Served With
My gorgeous pecan tartlets will be your new favorite way to eat pecan pie! I love to serve them with either a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. They’re also delicious on their own with a cup of coffee! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
If you prefer, you can use parchment to make sure the pastry dough doesn’t stick!
- You can cut out circles that are slightly smaller than the interior of the tart pans, and then place them onto the greased tart pans. This will guarantee the pans won’t stick to the dough!
Toasting the pecans will give an extra depth of flavor to the tartlets!
- Toasting the pecans isn’t required, but if you’d like to make your tartlets extra delicious, toast them on a baking sheet at 350°F (175°C) for 5 to 7 minutes or until the pecans are golden, fragrant, and sizzling! (Be sure to keep an eye on them and set a timer so they don’t burn)
Want more tips on the pastry dough?
- For this recipe I’ve just listed the condensed instructions for pastry dough, but if you want the full pastry dough instructions, check out my sweet shortcrust pastry dough recipe!
>>>See All Of My Tasty Recipes Here!<<<
🥡 Storing
You probably won’t have any extras of these delicious tartlets, but if you do, you can store them on the counter for 1 to 2 days! If you want to extend the shelf life, you can store the tarts in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
Freezing
Do you need to make these tartlets in advance for the holidays? You can either freeze unbaked tart shells (then bake from frozen) or wrap the tartlets in plastic cling film and foil and store them in the freezer for up to 1 month!
When you’re ready to eat, simply let the previously baked tartlets defrost in your fridge overnight!
🍩 More Easy Desserts
- Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peach Dump Cake
- Mint & Chocolate Nice Cream
- Greek Yogurt Popsicles
- Bisquick Apple Cobbler
❓ Recipe FAQs
Your pecans shouldn’t burn in this recipe, especially because we’re using chopped pecans! If they start to get too golden, you can loosely cover the tartlets with squares of aluminum foil to prevent over-browning!
Yes! If you love pecan pie and chocolate, try my incredible chocolate pecan slab bars! Not only are they delicious, but they’re also super easy to make too! Or you can try my P.B. pecan cookies that are a fabulous year-round treat!
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📖 Recipe Card
Pecan Tartlets
Ingredients
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
- ½ cup butter (unsalted - softened, at room temperature)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 large egg (beaten)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Pecan Filling
- ⅓ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ cup light brown sugar (packed)
- 1 ½ tablespoon butter (melted)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup pecans (2 portions of ½ cup each - chopped)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Make the Pastry Dough
- These are condensed instructions, to see the full instructions with process photos, tips, and notes please visit the sweet shortcrust pastry recipe. You can, alternatively, use portions of pre-packaged pie dough.
- In a large mixing bowl beat the butter until softened then add the sugar and continue until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg and vanilla extract into the creamed butter and sugar.
- Combine the flour and salt in a small bowl, whisking to evenly distribute the salt. Add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients then combine until you have a rough, loose crumbled dough.
- Gather your dough into a ball and place it onto a sheet of cling film. Wrap and flatten into a disc, then refrigerate and chill for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Once the pastry dough is chilled, portion out 6 chunks into the lightly buttered or greased 4-inch tart pans. Use your fingers to press the dough into an even layer on the bottom, then up the sides of the tart pans. Return to the refrigerator to chill while you move on to the next step.
Make the Pecan Filling
- In a medium mixing bowl combine the light corn syrup, light brown sugar, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Add the first ½ cup portion of crushed pecans and stir to combine. Set aside.
Assemble the Pecan Tartlets
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Remove the tart pans from the refrigerator and portion the pecan filling out into the 6 pans. Top with additional crushed or whole pecans if desired.
- Bake in the center of your oven's middle rack at 350°F (175°C) for 25 minutes, or until the filling is set (and no longer jiggles if you move the pans).
- Remove from the oven when done and allow to cool in the tart pans on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before popping out. Allow the tartlets to cool completely before serving.
Conchita says
I think is one of my new favorite baking desserts my family is not so much in to pecan pie so here is just what I need for me
Thanks so much