Aunt Ruths Pecan Sand Tarts Recipes

AUNT RUTH'S PECAN SAND TARTS

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add vanilla and nuts.
• Add flour, 1 cup at a time.
• Shape into little thin rolls - cut in to little "fingers".
• Bake at 300 degrees for 10-12 minutes until bottoms start to barely brown.
• Let set on baking sheet for five minutes.
• When cool, roll in powdered sugar.

GRANDMOM'S SAND TARTS

Steps:

• Cream the butter, sugar and eggs together. Add just enough flour to stiffen. Dough should be slightly sticky. Place dough in the refrigerator and let chill overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a very small bowl combine the egg white and the milk. Set aside.
• Remove small amount of dough from the refrigerator and on a lightly floured surface roll it out very thin. Cut out rounds with a biscuit cutter or drinking glass dipped in flour. Place cookies on a cookie sheet and paint the top with the egg white mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and top with a pecan half. Repeat until all the dough is used up.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes and the edges are slightly browned. Watch these cookies closely for they burn very easily.

PECAN SAND TARTS

Steps:

• Chop the pecans rather finely but don't pulverize into a powder. Set aside. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
• Combine the butter and both sugars in a large mixing bowl. Using a handheld electric mixer set at medium-high or creaming speed, beat until light and fluffy for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bowl once or twice with rubber spatula.
• Add the vanilla extract and egg and beat 30 seconds longer.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer. Stir in the chopped pecans and mix well. Stir in the flour and mix only until blended.
• Gather the dough into a ball in the center of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 1/2 hours.
• When ready to bake, combine the grated chocolate and the granulated sugar and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a baking sheet.
• Dampen your fingertips with cold water. Using level tablespoons of batter for each cookie, shape the dough into bars about 3/4 to 1 inch wide and 2 1/2 inches long, patting into shape with your fingers.
• Place the bars on the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
• Set the pan of cookies in the center of the preheated oven on the middle shelf and bake the cookies for 8 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the cookie tops with some of the chocolate-sugar mixture, using about 1 teaspoon per cookie. Return the cookies to the oven, reverse pan from front to back, and bake for 5 to 7 minutes longer, or until lightly browned and the topping is melted.
• Remove the cookies from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 2 or 3 minutes, and then remove from the pan with a metal spatula and cool completely on the rack.
• Bake the remaining cookies, one pan at a time, in the same way.