~~ I drool even thinking about these rich, nutty tarts. They find themselves a part of our annual Christmas cookie bake-off many years. ~~

Crust:

1 cup margarine, softened

2 cups sifted flour

2 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese

Filling:

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbs. margarine, melted

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

dash salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. In mixing bowl, blend cream cheese and margarine. Stir in flour; chill for 1 hour.

3. Shape chilled dough into balls and press into ungreased mini-muffin tins.

4. In another mixing bowl, beat egg, brown sugar, margarine, vanilla, and salt until smooth.

5. Divide the pecans in half and sprinkle one half in the pastry cups. Fill each cup with filling mixture(about 3/4 full) and top with remaining pecans.

6. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from pans.