Pastry

• Blend butter and cream cheese until well combined.
• Add flour, ½ cup at a time and blend just until combined.
• Shape into a disc, wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375F.
• Take chilled dough out of refrigerator.
• Prepare the filling while the dough comes to room temperature.

Filling

• Melt tablespoon of butter in microwave for 20 seconds. Set aside to cool.
• In a small bowl mix one tablespoon of egg replacer with two tablespoons of water. Let thicken for a few minutes.
• In a medium bowl whisk together the brown sugar, agave syrup, and maple syrup.
• Add the melted butter, egg replacer, applesauce, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt, stirring until well mixed.
• Finally, stir in the chopped nuts.
• Use your hands to roll pastry into one-inch balls and place in mini muffin tins or use a cookie scoop to make the process easier and more uniform.
• Press dough evenly from bottom to edges of the cup, working quickly so as not to overheat the pastry dough.
• Spoon filling into pastry cups until about 2/3 full, being careful not to overfill.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes. You want the pastry to be lightly browned and the filling bubbly and just beginning to caramelize.
• Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks for a few minutes, then carefully remove from pan and allow to cool.