Nut Picnic Tarts Recipes

CARAMEL NUT TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Between 2 sheets of wax paper roll out dough into a 14-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Transfer dough to a baking sheet and chill 10 minutes. Lift top sheet of wax paper from dough and gently replace on top (this will facilitate removal of paper later). Flip dough over, discarding wax paper now on top, and carefully invert dough into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Lightly press dough up side of rim, using pieces from overhang to patch any holes. Chill shell 30 minutes, or until firm.
• Line shell with foil, folding over edge to cover pastry entirely, and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell on a baking sheet in middle of oven 35 minutes and carefully remove foil and weights or rice. If bottom of crust still has patches of translucent undercooked dough, return shell to oven without foil and weights or rice and bake until pastry is completely cooked and golden, 3 to 5 minutes more. Cool shell in pan on a rack.
• Reduce temperature to 350°F.
• Coarsely chop nuts. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and honey, stirring, and simmer 1 minute. Stir in nuts and cream. Simmer mixture 1 minute and pour into shell. Bake tart on baking sheet in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until filling is a few shades darker. Cool tart in pan on rack.
• Chop chocolate and in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cool chocolate slightly and transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a #3 plain tip (slightly smaller than 1/8 inch). (Alternatively, transfer chocolate to a small heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. Squeeze chocolate into one corner of bag and with scissors cut a tiny slice off corner to form a small hole.) Pipe thin lines of chocolate over tart in a back and forth motion to form stripes. Tart may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.
• Serve caramel tart chilled or at room temperature with ice cream and tuiles.

NUT PICNIC TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place twelve 4-inch tart pans with removeable bottoms on a baking sheet. Set aside.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out twelve 6-inch circles of dough with a sharp paring knife, using an overturned 6-inch bowl as a guide, if necessary. Press dough into tart pans; trim excess. Dock tart shells by piercing the bottom all over with a fork. Chill in refrigerator until ready to fill; set aside.
• Spread pumpkin seeds on a rimmed baking sheet; toast, shaking pan halfway through, until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Spread nuts in separate rows on another rimmed baking sheet; toast, shaking pan until halfway through, until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Let seeds and nuts stand until cool.
• Rough chop macadamia nuts. Combine nuts in a medium bowl; set aside. In a different medium bowl, combine heavy cream and salt; set aside.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Using a sharp paring knife, split vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape out pulp and seeds; add scrapings and pod to melted butter. Swirl pan so butter does not burn; butter will bubble as it brown. Continue cooking until bubbles subside and butter is dark brown and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove vanilla bean; pour butter over cream mixture, whisking to combine.
• In a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine water, sugar, and corn syrup; bring to a boil without stirring. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to wash down the sides of the pan, dissolving any sugar granules. Allow caramel to cook, swirling pan to ensure even coloring, until it reaches 268 degrees on a candy thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and immediately stir in seeds, nuts, and cream mixture; mixture may spatter. Return pan to heat; simmer on medium-low, stirring occasionally, until mixture registers 210 degrees and is a pale caramel color, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat; pour into a heatproof bowl and cool until barely warm, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Fill each tart shell with caramel mixture. Place tarts on a rimmed baking sheet, spaced 1/2-inch apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until crust is nicely browned, about 25 minutes.