Pecan Tassies

by Ann

Even though it seems like the majority of my posts are for sweet treats, desserts are not my downfall.  (I’d rather spend my empty calories on chips and dip or wine -- or better yet, chips, dip, AND wine!)…) With that said, here is yet another recipe for dessert! 

I can’t remember the last pie I made, yet I love the little mini pecan pies called Pecan Tassies; two wonderful bites to satisfy a sweet craving, without overdoing.  The only time I make these is for the holidays, but I don’t have a reason for that other than they take a lot of effort to make, and for some reason the season calls for going above and beyond “what’s normal.”  I actually made this batch with my mom while the caramels were cooking a week or so ago.

Pecan Tassies

Ingredients:

• 1 c (2 sticks) butter
• 2 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, mix together the butter and cream cheese until well blended. Beat in flour, 1 cup at a time, until the mixture forms a smooth dough. Roll into small balls, and press into the bottoms and sides of mini muffin pans (with liners for easy clean up).
• In another bowl, mix together the eggs, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the pecans. Use a spoon to fill each of the crusts 2/3 full with the filling mixture.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until shell is light brown, and the filling has puffed up. Cool, and carefully remove from pans.

Yield – 4 dozen
                                     

Line the mini muffin pans with papers, put a small ball of dough in each one, and with your fingers carefully spread the dough on the sides and bottom of the papers.  Try to avoid having the crust too thick.

Fill crusts about 2/3 full with sugar/pecan/egg mixture.  Then bake for 25 minutes until edges of crust are golden and the top cracks.

The key to these being delicious is to make sure that the crusts are not too thick.  Ideally the filling should “run out” when all Tassie crusts are filled.  When we made these last we the recipe truly made the four dozen it was supposed to, and we had enough dough left over for about six more that didn’t end up being made because we were out of filling and ready to be done with the process.       

Even though these take longer to make than most cookies, they are worth the effort, and appreciated by those who receive them as gifts.  (Oh, who am I kidding -- these are staying at our house!)  Enjoy!