Ingredients

Pastry dough

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 3 to 4 Tbsp. ice water

Filling

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 cups pure maple syrup (Grade B)
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups pecan halves, lightly toasted

Directions

1. Blend together flour, butter, sugar and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
2. Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water along with the egg yolks evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated- add more liquid if needed. Gently knead, but do not over-mix.  Chill at least 1 hour before rolling.
3. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin to a large round circle. Press into the bottom of a 12" tart mold or a 9" pie pan- trim edges and crimp. Chill shell 30 minutes.
4. Prick the bottom with a fork and pre-bake shell at 350°F until light golden brown- about 10-15 minutes.
5. Whisk together yolks and salt in a bowl until blended, then whisk in syrup and lemon juice.
6. Stir in pecans and pour filling into pie shell, spreading nuts evenly.
7. Cover edge of shell with a pie shield or foil and bake just until filling is set, 20 to 30 minutes (time will be dependent on the thickness of your filling). Cool to warm or room temperature on rack.
8. (Optional) As an optional garnish, guests can top the tart with ginger whipped cream with brown sugar or maple sugar