Thanksgiving came early in my house this year with the creation of these Butterscotch Pecan Tarts!
As a young girl I was slightly one dimensional with my pie cravings. I only had eyes for the classic apple pie (Okanagan grown apples of course), served warm and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But as I grew older I came to realize the allure of the rich nuttiness and dark sticky sweetness that only a pecan pie can provide. I like to add a little butterscotch to my pecan filling just to keep things interesting.
Now, perfecting pie crust when working with gluten free ingredients can be tricky. More often than not the versions I’ve come across are far from the buttery, flaky, tender texture of their glutinous counterparts. So I set out to experiment until I had a crust that could stand up to your traditional wheat-based version. Using a combination of almond, white rice and chickpea flours to create the perfect balance between tenderness and structure, this recipe does not disappoint. Note: This recipe is too delicate for a full size tart shell. Recipe for full tart and pie shells coming soon!
Just some notes to keep in mind:
- If you cant get your hands on butterscotch chips not to worry! You can substitute for semi-sweet chocolate chips and turn this recipe into Chocolate Pecan Tarts.
- Cold butter is key for the tart dough! I like to place my butter in the freezer for 10-15 minutes prior to making my dough. The idea is that you want to leave large pea sized pieces of butter in your dough, which creates the flaky soft texture. The less you work this the dough the better.
- Dont skip toasting your pecans. Toasting them brings out their flavour and helps retain their crunchy texture.
- Make sure the butterscotch mixture is cooled before adding the eggs. If not you could end up with scrabbles eggs in your butterscotch.
Butterscotch Pecan Tarts
Ingredients
Tart Dough
- 80 g almond flour (fine ground)
- 60 g chickpea flour
- 35 g white rice flour
- 75 g unsalted butter (cold)
- 25 g icing sugar (more for dusting)
- 1 large US egg (beaten)
Butterscotch Pecan Filling
- 100 g butterscotch chips
- 60 g dark brown sugar
- 55 g unsalted butter
- 220 g golden corn syrup
- 2 large US eggs
- 1-2 cups whole pecans (toasted)
Instructions
Tart Dough
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours. Add the cold butter in cubes, pinching your fingers together until pea-size pieces are formed. Add the icing sugar and egg, use a fork to gently mix until the ingredients come together in a rough dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and allow to rest in the refrigerator for approx 15-20 min.
Butterscotch Pecan Filling
- In a baine-marie set over low heat, combine butterscotch chips, corn syrup, brown sugar and butter. using a spatula stir gently until everything is melted and well combined. Once cooled, whisk in the eggs and set aside.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C and grease muffin or flutted tart tins. Set aside.Place the pecans on a parchment lined pan and toast in the oven for 3-5 minutes. Set aside.Place a piece of grease-proof paper, dusted with icing sugar on the counter. Unwrap your rested dough and place on the paper and dust the top with more icing sugar. If the dough feels tacky place another sheet of grease-proof paper other the dough. Roll the dough to approx 1.5 – 2mm thickness. Using a 3-4 inch cookie cutter or stamp cut the pastry and line each tin with the pastry rounds. If the pastry is too delicate to handle, place in the freezer for 5 minutes. Reserving a few whole pecans to decorate the tops of your tarts. Begin sprinkling the pecans into the bottom of each tart shell, breaking them up with your hands as you go. Pour the filling evenly over the pecans and top with 3-4 whole pecans. Bake the tarts for approximately 20-25 minutes, rotating after 10 minutes. If the tarts are golden and they look nearly set and only a small spot in the center jiggles slightly, it is done. Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack.Serve with fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
