Fig-Honey Tarts

• Nut shortbread crusts or crust
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 6 tablespoons whipping cream
• 2/3 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• About 1 1/3 pounds ripe black-skinned figs
• Vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream (optional)

1. Bake nut shortbread crusts (set individual crusts in a 12- by 15-inch pan) in a 350u0b0 oven (or a 325u0b0 convection oven) until golden at edges, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. While crusts bake, make nut sauce. In a bowl, mix honey, whipping cream, hazelnuts, and lemon peel.
3. Rinse figs, trim stems, and cut into pieces that are about 1 inch wide. Arrange figs, tips and cut side up, in hot crusts or crust.
4. Spoon nut sauce equally over fruit.
5. Bake in a 350u0b0 oven (or a 325u0b0 convection oven) until sauce is bubbling and crust is deep golden, 20 to 24 minutes for individual tarts, 50 to 55 minutes for a large tart.
6. Cool in pan or pans on a rack at least 30 minutes. If making ahead, chill airtight up to 1 day. Remove pan rims. Serve with ice cream
7. Nut shortbread crusts: In a food processor, mince 1/3 cup hazelnuts with 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup sugar. Add 1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter or margarine, in chunks, and whirl until fine crumbs form. Add 1 large egg yolk and whirl until dough holds together. (Or mince nuts with a knife, then put in a bowl. Rub in flour, butter, and sugar until fine crumbs form; then, with a fork, mix in yolk. Pat into a ball.) In 6 tart pans (4 1/2 in. wide) with removable rims, or an 11-inch tart pan, press dough evenly over bottom and up sides, flush with rims.
8. Nutritional analysis per individual tart.

nut shortbread, honey, whipping cream, hazelnuts, figs, vanilla ice cream

Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fig-honey-tarts (may not work)