Pecan Tassies

Mini pecan pies? Don’ t mind if I do!! As I mentioned yesterday, every year my mom and her friends have a cookie exchange and every year, I pick through her loot to make sure I get all of my favorites. Aside from her Raspberry-Walnut Thumbprints, my favorite cookie in her basket were the Pecan Tassies. I’m not sure who made them but I could rely on them to bring them to their gathering each year. Today I am participating in my very first cookie exchange at work, so I only felt that it was appropriate to attempt to recreate this memory.Roll up your sleeves and crank up the Holiday tunes, let’s get cookin!Pre-heat your oven to 350 and toast 1 cup of pecans on a sheet pan ~6 minutes. Cool completely and finely chop.Cream together 2 sticks of unsalted butter and 6 oz plain cream cheese (room temperature).Mix in 2 cups all purpose flour and chill about 30 minutes.In the mean time, whisk 1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, 3 eggs and 2 tsp of vanilla extract.Add chopped pecans and 3 TBS melted butter.Form into mini balls (makes about 4 dozen) and press into mini muffin tins.Fill with about a spoonful of the mixture and bake for 20 minutes.Cool for a few minutes in the tray and remove to a wire rack.

Pecan Tassies

(Makes 4 dozen)

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 oz plain cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
• 1 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 TBS melted butter

1. Pre-heat oven to 350. Have 2 mini muffin pans that hold 24 ready (I only own one so I just stuck the dough back in the refrigerator and did 2 batches.)
2. Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add flour. Chill dough for 30 minutes so that it is easy to work with.
3. Whisk brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add pecans and melted butter.
4. Roll dough into small ~1 inch balls and press into muffin tins. Add a spoonful of the pecan mixture and bake 20 minutes.
5. Cool in rack for a few minutes and remove to a cooling rack.

Holiday Cookie 1: Pistachio and Cherry Mexican Wedding Cakes

Holiday Cookie 2: Vanilla Almond Biscotti Dipped in Chocolate

Holiday Cookie 3: Chocolate Covered Sable and Orange Curd Sandwiches

Holiday Cookie 4: Hazlenut Linzer Cookie with Blackberry Jam

Holiday Cookie 5: Chocolate-Pecan Fingers

Holiday Cookie 6: Orange-Ginger Spice Cookies

Holiday Cookie 7: Dark Chocolate Almond Macaroons

Holiday Cookie 8: Apricot Cream Cheese Cookies

Holiday Cookie 9: Raspberry-Walnut Thumbprints

Happy Holidays,

Nora
Two more days of cookie baking for my “12-days of cookies!” I can’t believe I’m almost there. It has been a delicious ride . What should I make next?