It's Thanksgiving! What better thing to encompass all that Thanksgiving is about (butter, winter squash, alcohol) than the awesome tarts below, made by Emily Beebe for our holiday food workshop last week. She's got a blog with lots more recipes, but seriously, these are amazing.

Butternut Squash With Brown Sugar Bourbon Glaze & Salted Butter Pecans

First, the dough:

Tart Dough

1 ¼ C Flour
1 Tbsp + 2 Tsp Corn Starch
¼ Tsp Salt
6 Tbsp Butter, diced
1 egg, beaten

In a food processor, combine dry ingredients. Add butter and pulse until the mixture looks like peas. Add egg, pulse until the mixture looks like course sand.

Turn mixture out on clean board or counter. Knead a few times until dough forms into a ball. 

For mini-tarts, roll dough into 24 equal sized balls. Press each ball in the palm of hand to create a small disk. Place in mini-muffin tin. Using fingers, shape dough into muffin tins.

This dough can also be rolled out and placed into a regular tart pan. One recipe will make enough dough for 24 mini-tarts or one large tart.

And now for the tart! 

For Butternut Mash

1 Small butternut squash
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
1 Tsp Tarragon

Heat oven to 375.

Cut squash in half, lengthwise and remove seeds. Rub cut side with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place squash cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes or until a knife can be easily inserted in the squash.

Allow squash to cool and remove skin. Place squash in a bowl and mash. Place squash in a fine sieve over a large bowl and allow to drain, 30 min-2 hrs. Season with tarragon and additional salt and pepper. Place in an airtight container in the fridge. This can be made several days ahead of time. 

For Brown Sugar Bourbon Glaze

4 Tbsp Butter
½ C Brown Sugar
1/3 C Bourbon 

In a small pot, over medium heat, melt butter and sugar together. When liquid boils, remove from heat and add bourbon. Allow this to fizzle and bubble and calm down before placing over medium/low heat again. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Place in an airtight container. This can be made several days ahead of time.

For Salted Butter Pecans

30 Pecan Halves
1 Tbsp Butter, melted
Kosher Salt
Heat oven to 350.

Place pecans in an appropriately sized bowl and pour melted butter over them. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
Spread pecans evenly over an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and place in oven for 4.5 minutes. Remove pecans and turn them over. Place in oven for an additional 4.5 minutes.
Remove from oven. Remove foil from baking sheet with pecans and place on a cooling rack. These can also be made a couple days ahead of time. 

Assembling & Baking Tarts

Add 1 heaping tsp butternut mash to dough-lined tarts.
Add ¼ heaping tsp brown sugar bourbon glaze per tart
Add 1 salted pecan per tart
Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until tart dough is golden brown.
Remove tarts from pan and allow to cool completely before storing, or serve warm within minutes of coming out of the oven.