Homemade Pecan Tortillas Recipes

PECAN TARTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy; blend in flour and salt. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Shape into 1-in. balls; press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased mini-muffin cups. , For filling, in a small bowl, beat the egg. Add brown sugar, butter and vanilla; mix well. Stir in pecans. Spoon into tart shells. , Bake at 325° for 25-30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before carefully removing from pans. Garnish with maraschino cherries if desired.

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN TORTILLAS

Steps:

• Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Either by hand or with a pastry cutter, cut in the shortening till the mixture is crumbly. If the mixture looks more floury than crumbly, be sure to add just one or two more tablespoons of shortening till it is crumbly. Add about 3/4 cup hot water to the mixture, or just enough to make the ingredients look moist.
• With your hand or a large fork, knead the mixture making sure to rub the dough against the sides of the large mixing bowl to gather any clinging dough. If the dough still sticks to the side of the bowl, add a couple more tablespoons of flour until the dough forms a soft round shape. The dough is ready to roll out now, but it is best to let it rest. Cover it with a dish towel, and let it sit for about an hour or so.
• Take the dough, and pull it apart into 10 to 12 balls. Lightly flour your rolling area, and roll each ball with a rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thickness.
• Place each tortilla on a medium hot cast iron skillet. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until the tortilla does not look doughy.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir in water and oil. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10-12 times, adding a little flour or water if needed to achieve a smooth dough. Let rest for 10 minutes., Divide dough into 8 portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 7-in. circle., In a greased cast-iron or other heavy skillet, cook tortillas over medium heat until lightly browned, 1 minute on each side. Serve warm.

PECAN TURTLES

Steps:

• Spread the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 375*F about 5 minutes, until warm and fragrant. Cool and set aside.
• Unwrap caramels and place caramels, cream and vanilla in the top of a double boiler and heat until the caramels have melted (this will take a while). Stir as needed.
• While the caramel melts, heat the chocolate chips in another double boiler, or in the microwave at 50% power in 30 second intervals. Stir between intervals and stop cooking when the chips have almost melted, but not fully. Be careful not to over heat the chocolate, it can easily burn. Stir chips until smooth and fully melted.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat liner. Spoon a small amount of chocolate onto the baking sheet, using the back of the spoon to smooth it into a small circle (about 2" diameter). After you've made 3-4 circles, arrange 5 pecan halves on to of chocolate, creating the "turtle" head and four legs (as pictured), or a flower. Continue making circles of chocolate, then adding pecans until the baking sheet is full (I usually fit 6-10 on a baking sheet). Set entire baking sheet in the fridge for a few minutes, until the chocolate has set up a bit.
• Once the chocolate has set, (remove from fridge) and add about a teaspoon or two of melted caramel onto the center of the pecans (as pictured). The caramel should be just melted enough that it will fall off a spoon, but not so liquid that it just rolls right off the pecans into a puddle. If the caramel is too thin, remove from heat and allow to cool just a bit. Once caramel has been added to each turtle, place baking sheet back into the fridge for a few minutes.
• When the caramel has set up just a bit, spoon a bit of chocolate on top, covering as much of the caramel as possible. If desired, add a bit of fleur de sel sea salt on top.
• Place turtles back in the fridge for just a few minutes to set up.
• When fully cool and set, remove from baking sheet and store in an airtight container at room temperature. See notes below about shelf life.

HOMEMADE PECAN TORTILLAS

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, place all purpose flour, salt, and toasted pecans. Slowly start whipping together, adding the warm water slowly until it makes a smooth dough. The dough should be smooth and lightly sticky.
• Let rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Make into 2 ounce portions when ready to roll out tortillas. Make sure to flour the surface to avoid the tortillas sticking. Place the ball of the dough on the floured surface and roll into 6 inch round tortillas.
• Cook tortillas on a hot griddle 1/2 minute on each side.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

Steps:

• Make the dough: Put the masa harina in a bowl and gradually stir in 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water with a fork.
• Add 3 or 4 more tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix with your hands until the dough comes together.
• Knead until soft and pliable, then gather into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and set aside, 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough into Ping-Pong-size balls, moistening your hands with water to keep the dough from sticking. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap; keep covered with more plastic as you roll the rest of the dough.
• First, set a large griddle over two burners; heat one side to medium-low and the other to medium-high (or use two cast-iron skillets).
• Cut a circle slightly larger than your tortilla press from a large resealable plastic bag; include the seam of the bag in your circle so that the two circles remain attached on one side.
• Place a dough ball between the plastic rounds and flatten in a tortilla press into a 5-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. (If you don't have a tortilla press, use a coffee can to flatten the dough.)
• Peel off the top piece of plastic; flip the tortilla onto your hand and peel off the bottom piece of plastic.
• Ease the tortilla onto the cooler side of the griddle and cook until it is slightly dry around the edges and starts to peel away from the griddle, about 45 seconds. Transfer to the hotter side of the griddle, uncooked-side down. Cook until speckled on the bottom, about 1 minute, then flip and cook until puffed in spots, about 1 more minute. Press and cook the remaining tortillas; stack them in a cloth-lined basket and cover with the cloth, or wrap in foil and keep warm in a 250 degrees F oven.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

Steps:

• Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt using your hands or a pastry cutter and crumble or cut in the shortening until the mixture is crumbly. If it looks more powdery than crumbly add a tablespoon or more shortening until it is crumbly.
• Add just enough of the HOT water to make the ingredients look moist.
• Now, knead the mixture. Kneading anywhere you see any loose pieces or flour so you are sure to get everything. If it sticks to the anything add a some more flour. Play with the dough and the flour and shortening amounts until you have a dough that makes a soft round shape. You want your dough to be smooth and sort of elastic.
• Cover bowl with a towel and let it rest for about an hour.
• After it rests, cut or pinch off 10 to 12 balls. Add some flour to your rolling pin and workspace LIGHTLY. Roll each ball into about 1/8 inch thickness or press with a tortilla press that has plastic wrap covering any part that the dough will touch.
• Cook tortilla's one at a time on a medium hot cast iron skillet or griddle for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until the tortilla gets brown specks. Black specks mean your pan is too hot. Reduce heat so the tortilla puffs and browns. It should puff up underneath if done right. Do not worry if it does not though. Practice will get you to that stage.
• NOTE: Here are some tips as to technique: Do not use bread flour. You want flour with a low gluten content. You don't want to over-flour your work surface, but you don't want your rolled-out tortilla sticking to it either. I found that the dough adhered less to an unvarnished wood surface (like an old cutting board) than any other surface I tried. A flat dough scraper, or "bench knife" is perfect for removing the rolled-out tortilla from the work surface. When rolling out tortillas, dust your rolling pin with flour, and don't be afraid to apply some pressure. Flour tortilla dough is pretty sturdy; but not to the point of rerolling. You don't want tough tortillas. Making perfect circles is harder than it sounds; the dough wants to draw up. So if perfectly circular shapes are important, you can trim away the excess with a sharp knife.