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Pecan tassies are simple, classic holiday cookies, with a buttery pecan taste similar to that of pecan pie.
When I was a young girl, I remember my grandmother making Pecan Tassies and bringing them to our house for Christmas. I also remember that I did not really like them at all! But now, I’m a huge fan. Blame it on the 30+ years of living in Texas and my taste for native pecans, and there’s not a whole lot that I’ll refuse if it includes pecans.
Now I will say I’m still a little bit picky about pecan pie. It can’t have too many pecans, nor have too much of the filling. I like it to have a balance. So I dug out my recipe for grandma’s Tassies and I’m glad I did. (Remember, last week I posted a Peanut Butter Fudge recipe from my grandmother? That was from my grandma on the other side of the family).
Pecan tassies offer just the right balance of pecans to filling to crust.
I’d venture to guess that they freeze well, although I’m not a great judge, since I’ve probably eaten half a pecan pie’s worth since I made them! That’s the downside, they’re just so darn easy to pop into your mouth and enjoy. I’m pretty sure it’s been a while since my mom and dad have had pecan tassies, so I may just need to make up an extra batch to share with them this Christmas!
Just a few simple ingredients are all you need to make pecan tassies.
Pecan Tassies
Ingredients
- non-stick spray
For Crust
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Filling
- 1 cup pecans coarsely chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 dash salt
Instructions
- Spray mini muffin pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
To Prepare Crust
- In medium bowl, combine butter and cream cheese until creamy and smooth with electric or stand mixer.
- Add flour, half a cup at a time, blending thoroughly until smooth dough forms.
- Scoop about a half a tablespoon of dough and shape into a ball.
- Place balls in prepare mini-muffin baking pan.
- Press ball in pan up sides to form a cup.
To Prepare Filling
- In medium bowl, lightly beat eggs until combined.
- Add brown sugar and stir well.
- Add melted butter, vanilla extract and dash of salt.
To Assemble Tassies
- Evenly sprinkle half of chopped nuts in unbaked cups filled with crust.
- Add about a scant tablespoon of the liquid filling over the pecans. Top with remaining pecans.
- Bake at 350°F for 15-17 minutes or until filling is almost set.
- Reduce heat to 250°F (yes, 250°) and bake an additional 10 minutes more until filling is firm.
- Immediately remove tassies from muffin pan place on cooling racks until completely cooled.
- Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or freeze for up to three months.
Nutrition
Be sure to check out all the other bloggers who are participating this week in the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog hop… you’ll have no excuse of “I don’t know what to make!” And if you’re a blogger and want to join in on the fun, check out this post for the form to fill out to start baking along with us!
Sue @ Cakeballs, cookies and more
so cute, I would not be able to stop after just one.
Elaine @ Cooking to Perfection
We just had pecan pie at Thanksgiving, and boy was it delicious. I agree with you-there needs to be the right balance between pecans and filling. These are so cute and look fantastic!
Karen @ Karens Kitchen Stories
Oh my gosh, my grandmother ALWAYS made these for Christmas. Thanks for the great memory! I’ve pinned these to make.
Ashley @ Kitchen Meets Girl
Pecan pie is one of my favorites and I love the idea of making these bite-sized. Thanks for hosting!
Julia
You can never go wrong with pecan tassies. After spending a few years in Texas, I can honestly say that my appreciation for pecans has grown exponentially.
Meal Plan Mom (Brenda)
Yes, I find that I like them on all sorts of things. Two other favorites ways: toasted and as a salad topping and finely chopped and as a fish or chicken “breading”. Yum!
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These cookies bring back such great memories of my grandma!!!
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I’m addicted to pecans at the moment so I love the look of these!
Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction
These look adorable. Too bad my husband doesn’t like pecans or walnuts. I wonder if I could make them with chopped almonds. I followed you on Twitter a little late in the blog hop especially since I’ve been posting every week.
Helen
those look so good, I haven’t made those in years
Helen
Kayla
These look fantastic! I wasn’t a big pecan fan as a kid but love them now.
Karen H
These look delicious and I can’t wait to try them! One question….do you need to spray the mini-muffin tin or do they come right our because of the butter in the crust?
Meal Plan Mom (Brenda)
Thanks! I have a non-stick muffin pan so I don’t spray but you might want to if you don’t have non-stick pan. Just a very light spray though is all that would be needed. Enjoy!
Christine Waggoner
How the heck do you get these out of a hot pan to cool without destroying them?
Brenda Thompson
Hi Christine! You’ll want to let them cool only about 5 minutes in the baking pan. You can also spray the mini muffin tin with baking spray too before adding the crust and filling. I will make that update on the recipe. Hope this helps!