Christmas is not my favorite time of year; Halloween is. That doesn’t mean that I don’t get crazy for Christmas though! My house turns into a bonafide bakery for the month of December. To kick the month off right, I made one of my favorite Christmas treats of all time, the Pecan Tassie! I have had these every Christmas for as far back as I can remember. My mother would always always always make them, and I’d be right there by her side, either watching or helping. So, today, I’m going to guide you through the process of making these precious little gems that are irresistible to kids and adults alike! We start by making the crust. We sift the flour.
Then measure the flour.
Put the butter in a fairly large bowl,
and add in the cream cheese
then the sifted flour.
Here’s the exercise portion of the program! Get your favorite sturdy fork, or one of those fancy pastry cutters, and cut the butter, cream cheese, and flour until the mixture resembles little pebbles.
Bring the dough together with your hands, divide into two equal portions, roll into 12″ logs, and refrigerate while we start on the filling! Butter! Make sure it’s nice and soft. Seriously, don’t even attempt the filling if the butter isn’t soft.
Here’s me referring to my recipe! I’m surprised this card looks as good as it does! I’ve definitely got funk on quite a few of my recipe cards from years and years of use.
The butter goes in a bowl
Then add in your brown sugar, and mix until the butter and brown sugar are combined very well.
Eggs!
I got this vanilla ON SALE at the Williams Sonoma outlet in Vegas… Yum.
Add in some of that goodness.
Mix it all together.
Make sure your tassie cup pan is greased and floured. I seriously think that flouring pans is an art.
Next, we gather the rest of our tools/ingredients!
This is what I use to flatten the dough after it’s in the cups. It’s one of those Kitchen-Aid tools that’s used to push raw meat through the meat grinder. I rarely use the meat grinder, and I actually use the handle part of the tool, so there’s no cross-contamination going on here. No way, José. Chop the pecans. There’s just something about using a knife to chop nuts. I love the sharp cuts you get, that you can’t really get with a nut grinder.
Now, I modified my mom’s recipe a bit to make it easier to get the 24 balls of dough that you need for each recipe. Divide the dough from earlier into two equal parts, then roll each dough segment into a 12″ log. From there, cut the dough into 12 one inch portions. You don’t have to do it that way… I didn’t do it that way this time, but sometimes it just makes your life easier.
Use whatever tool you’ve got, and press the dough, making little mini crusts to fill.
You can also use your hands to make little discs, or a tortilla press, or whatever tricks you may have, and make the little crusts.
Then, we sprinkle the chopped pecans in the bottom of the crusts:
Next, use a teaspoon measure of the brown sugar mixture,
Top with yet more pecans –
and bake until light golden brown!
I was planning on getting a money shot of the Pecan Tassies after our Christmas Cookie party, but I gave nearly all of them away! There was one left, so I did what I could to get the glory shot.
Voila! Pecan Tassie! I hope you make these for your family and friends this holiday season. They are delicious, and I promise you won’t have many leftovers! What’s your favorite Christmas cookie/pastry/dessert?
Pecan Tassies
By
Published: December 5, 2010
A tradition that has been in my family for longer that I can remember. The Pecan Tassie!
Ingredients
1 3oz. Package Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Flour
2 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
Dash of Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter, softened
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2/3 Cups Pecans, chopped
Instructions
Pastry:
Blend cream cheese, butter and flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Bring together with hands until just combined, and sticks together. Divide dough into two equal portions and roll into a 12 inch log. Refrigerate. While the dough is chilling, make the filling.
Filling:
Beat butter and brown sugar together until well combined. Add in eggs, vanilla and salt. Beat until creamy. Place half the nuts on the bottom of each tassie cup, then top each tassie with 1 tsp. filling, followed by remaining nuts. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.Start by adding the lemon juice to a large bowl. Add in the salt and pepper, then gradually add in the olive oil while whisking vigorously. Add in the remaining ingredients, and toss. Taste, adjust seasonings to your liking, and enjoy!
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 24 Tassie Cups
Sarah Louise says
These look absolutely wonderful! I’m going to have to make these soon. Your picture turned out quite lovely, btw.
angel says
Bet ya can’t have just 5 of them!!!
PBrandl says
OMGoodness I am in love! These are amazing. I never liked them as a kid but now…a whole different story. Thank you!!!
Natalie Wiser-Orozco says
I’m glad you enjoy them PBrandl!! These are always a hit with everyone I cross paths with during the Holidays. Definitely a fan favorite!