Pecan Tassies Recipe With Picture

Pecan Tassies are these cute little tarts that have a tender and flaky pastry shell with a sweet and gooey filling full of chopped pecans. You might say they are like miniature pecan pies that can be eaten in two delicious bites.

Tarts begin with pastry. For these tarts I decided to use a cream cheese pastry that is made with just three ingredients; cream cheese, butter, and flour. This pastry is a dream to work with. It rolls out easily, doesn't tear, and when baked it turns golden brown with a texture that is soft and flaky with an, ever so slight, acidic flavor. The filling, like a pecan pie, is sweet and gooey, although I do not find it cloyingly so (as there is no corn syrup). This type of filling is what Marion Cunningham in her book "The Fannie Farmer Baking Book" describes as "translucent" and is a type of custard. It is "a baked mixture thickened with eggs, but containing no milk - only large amounts of sugar, eggs, butter, and some flavoring" (in this case vanilla extract). She cautions us not to over bake these tarts, "as with all custards, these fillings become granular if over baked". So it is best if the filling is baked only until set yet still a little soft in the center.

Of course, the star of the show here is the Pecan. Pecans, named Pakans by Algonquin Indians because of their hard shell, are a native American nut. They are a member of the hickory family and grow in temperate climates. Here in the United States, they are cultivated in the States of Georgia, Oklahoma, and Texas. Pecans have a smooth, reddish-brown, one-inch (2.54 cm) long oval shell which encloses two golden-brown crinkled lobes with ivory-colored meat. They have a buttery, soft-textured, slightly bittersweet taste that is enhanced when toasted. If you would like to toast the pecans before adding them to the filling, simply place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes in a 350 degree F (180 degree C) oven until lightly browned. Cool before using.

Pecan Tassies are delicious warm, cold, or at room temperature, They freeze very well which makes them ideal for the Christmas season.

Cream Cheese Pastry: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the flour and beat until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for about one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Have ready two - 24 cup or four - 12 cup miniature muffin pans.

Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and pinch off one-quarter of the pastry. Return the remaining pastry to the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry dough until about 1/8 inch thick and cut into rounds that are slightly larger than the muffin tins. Gently place the rounds into the muffin tins. Repeat with the rest of the pastry dough.

Pecan Filling: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt until well mixed. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the filling into each of the pastry-lined muffin tins. Sprinkle each with some coarsely chopped pecans.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry has nicely browned and the filling is set, yet still a little soft in the center. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool briefly before removing from tins. Pecan Tassies can be frozen.

Makes about 48 miniature Pecan Tassies.

Cunningham, Marion. The Fannie Farmer Baking Book. Wings Books. New York: 1984.

Ojakangas, Beatrice. The Great Holiday Baking Book. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis: 1994..

Cream Cheese Pastry:

1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 ounces (170 grams) regular cream cheese, at room temperature

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

Pecan Filling:

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter, melted

1 3/4 cups (370 grams) light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (110 grams) coarsely chopped pecans

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