| 1 | Allow the butter and cream cheese to soften. |
| 2 | Mix cream cheese and butter with a mixer until fluffy. |
| 3 | Then (using your hands) mix in the flour. |
| 4 | Separate mixture into four equal parts and flatten each into a rectangular shape. |
| 5 | Allow the pastry to chill for several hours. |
| 6 | Preheat oven to 350 °F. |
| 7 | Prepare filling by mixing all ingredients gently. |
| 8 | Use a spoon, not a mixer. |
| 9 | Refrigerate until muffin tins are ready to fill. |
| 10 | Take one unit of the chilled pastry and cut into 12 equal pieces. |
| 11 | Roll each piece into a ball and then form the ball into the muffin tin in the shape of a crust. |
| 12 | Fill each tart about ?full. |
| 13 | Bake at 350 °F. |
| 14 | For 20 to 30 minutes. |
| 15 | Bake these until slightly brown. |
| 16 | To remove tarts, just turn the tin upside down onto paper towels and then turn the tart right side up on a baking rack to cool. |
| 17 | Notes: * miniature pecan pies cooked in bite-size individual crusts in tiny muffin tins -- they are quite delicious. |
| 18 | * you will need to purchase tiny muffin tins, sometimes called "nugget pans," to make these tarts. |
| 19 | They are inexpensive and you can use these for various other things. |
| 20 | It is best to purchase enough to make four dozen at once. |
| 21 | The entire four dozen will fit into the oven on one rack! it is best to spray these tins with cooking oil before putting the crust in. * there is a wooden utensil called a "tart-tamper" that is a real time-saver for this recipe. |
| 22 | It might be difficult to find. |
| 23 | It is used to smash the ball to fit the tin so you don"t spend a lot of time using your fingers. |
| 24 | You dip the tip of the tamper in flour each time to prevent sticking to the pastry. |
| 25 | It also makes the pastry look much more uniform and professional. |
| 26 | : difficulty: easy if you have a tart tamper; moderate otherwise. |
| 27 | : time: 15 minutes pastry preparation; several hours chilling; 1 hour filling, baking and cooling. |
| 28 | : precision: be precise for the pastry, filling may be approximate. |
| 29 | : nancy foltz : at&t bell labs, columbus, ohio, usa : cbdkc1!naf : |
