ROTW, Week 32: Honey Ricotta Tarts with Toasted Pecans

Two weeks in a row with dessert!  This never happens.Except that since I still had the ricotta, it made sense to use it again (and frankly, as we are prepping for vacation next week, there is NOTHING else in there right now.)

So based on the remaining contents of my fridge/freezer:

Ricotta Puff Pastries with Honey and Toasted Pecans
makes 5

1/2 package frozen puff pastry, thawed (1 sheet)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
handful of pecan halves
honey to drizzle

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Roll out the puff pastry dough until it is 1/8" thick - cut into roughly 4" squares using a pizza cutter.  Lay the squares into the cups of a muffin tin, pressing the dough to the bottom and folding as necessary.  Leave the corners outside the cups.  Using a fork, prick the bottoms of the cups to encourage them to stay flat inside.

Bake the cups for 5-8 minutes, until the corners have begun to puff and the bottom is as cooked as possible without the corners getting too browned.  Meanwhile stir together the ricotta, powdered sugar, and cinnamon until well blended.  When the cups are finished prebaking, remove the tray from the oven and fill the cups with the ricotta mixture.  Return the tray to the oven and bake a further 10 minutes.

While the cups are baking, toast the pecans for 2-3 minutes in a cast iron skillet on the stove, over medium heat.  Be careful not to burn them!  When the pecans are toasted, remove them to a chopping board and roughly chop them.

After 10 minutes remove the ricotta cups from the oven.  Allow the pan to cool and the ricotta to set slightly before attempting to remove the pastries.  Sprinkle with the chopped toasted pecans, and drizzle honey over the whole thing.  Enjoy slightly warm, or at room temperature.