This is normally the time of year when I try to score good deals on plane tickets home for Christmas and Thanksgiving. You would think that buying this early in advance would be cheaper, and it is, but only slightly. All that thinking about the holidays made me crave the pecan pie my Dad bakes every Thanksgiving and Christmas. I hope this doesn’t embarrass him, but my Dad can bake one helluva pie.
What are Pecan Tassies?
Instead of baking a whole pecan pie, I made pecan tassies. If you’ve never had a tassie, it’s a cookie cup with a custard filling. It tastes like a bite of pecan pie encased in a rich cream cheese dough. Pecan tassies are a classic Southern cookie to bake around the holidays, but what do you do when you crave them in April? Do you make an entire batch of 4 dozen cookies? No way, we make a scaled down version that only makes 8 cookies.
Why you’ll love this Recipe For Pecan Tassies
This old-fashioned holiday cookie is like a little bite of pecan pie in a flaky crust. If you love pecan pie, you will love it in bite-size cookie form!
Pecan Tassie Recipe Ingredients
Butter. One stick of butter for the dough, plus two additional tablespoons to melt and use in the pecan pie filling. So, you need slightly more than one stick of butter for this recipe. Cream Cheese. The base of a pecan tassie cookie is the cream cheese dough. Cream cheese makes pie dough tender, flaky and have the slightly tanginess to it. It’s so delicious, you might want to check out my Raspberry Pie Cookies recipe, because it uses the same dough! We need half a brick (or 4 ounces) of cream cheese. Flour. Just one cup of all-purpose flour for the dough. Egg. Two large eggs, beaten for the filling. Brown Sugar. I use molasses-rich brown sugar for the filling of these cookies because this is also what we use in pecan pie to make a moist mixture. Whiskey. Depending on where you are in the South, sometimes these cookies have a splash of whiskey in them. If that’s not your thing, use the same amount of vanilla extract in its place. If it’s your thing, use 1 teaspoon. Pecans. Just two-thirds of a cup of chopped pecans that you toast lightly in a skillet for a few minutes to bring out their flavor. I love that this recipe uses pieces, so you don’t have to buy expensive whole pecan halves!
How to Make Pecan Tassies with Cream Cheese Crust
In case you’ve never made tassies, I did a little step-by-step of how to get a ball of dough into a cup shape.
Pecan Tassie Tips
Dough - If you’re having trouble getting the dough to form in the mini muffin pan, let it warm up at room temperature for a few minutes. It should not be cracking when you’re pushing it into the cups. If it is, it’s too cold.
How do you keep pecan tarts from sticking to the pan?
Before pressing the dough into the pan, we’re going to generously butter the pan. If you let the cookies cool (and the butter solidifies), they will not stick to the pan. If you’re trying to remove them when they’re still too warm, they might flaky and appear to stick. Let them rest!
Pecan Tassie Recipe Serving Suggestions
Tuck these pecan tassies into any Christmas cookie tin, or serve them on a holiday buffet with dollops of whiskey-flavored whipped cream.
Pecan Tassie storage
These cookies keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, but can be prolonged in the fridge for another 2 days. Beyond that, they might become overly soggy.
Can you freeze Pecan Tassies?
Yes, you can freeze these cookies after they’re baked in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To defrost, place them in the fridge overnight and then at room temperature for a few minutes.
Wilton Non-Stick Mini-Muffin Pan, 12-Cup (2-Pack)
