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Pecan tassies are cream cheese cookie dough cups stuffed with chewy, sweet pecan centers. They taste just like a mini bite of pecan pieโheavenly! One of my favoriteย Southern holiday cookies!
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.ย I hope this doesnโt embarrass him, but my Dad can bake one helluva pie.
What are Pecan Tassies?
Instead of baking a whole pecanย pie, I made pecan tassies.ย If youโve never had a tassie, itโs a cookie cup with a custard filling.ย It tastes like a bite of pecan pieย 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?ย Do you make an entire batchย of 4 dozen cookies?ย No way, we make aย scaled down version that only makes 8 cookies.
Why youโll 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. Itโs 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 thatโs not your thing, use the same amount of vanilla extract in its place. If itโs 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 donโt have to buy expensive whole pecan halves!
How to Make Pecan Tassies with Cream Cheese Crust
In case youโve never made tassies, I did a little step-by-step of how to get a ball of dough into a cup shape.
First, make the dough: combine with an electric mixer the softened butter and cream cheese.
Add the flour and beat until incorporated. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, grease 16 cups in a mini muffin pan with the extra butter, and preheat the oven to 350. Form 16 evenly sized balls out of the dough.
Divide the dough into 8 equal-sized balls, then press the dough in the cups, using your fingers to guide the dough up the pan to make a thick crust without any holes or tears.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter, brown sugar, whiskey and pecans. Divide this mixture evenly among the dough cups.
Bake for 20 minutes. The pecan filling with puff up and rise above the edges of the dough.
Pecan Tassie Tips
Dough โ If youโre 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 youโre pushing it into the cups. If it is, itโs too cold.
How do you keep pecan tarts from sticking to the pan?
Before pressing the dough into the pan, weโre going to generously butter the pan. If you let the cookies cool (and the butter solidifies), they will not stick to the pan. If youโre trying to remove them when theyโre 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 theyโre 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.
Pecan Tassies
Makes 8 pecan tassie cookies.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (plus extra for pan)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup flour
For the custard filling:
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon whiskey (or vanilla)
- 2/3 cup chopped, toasted pecans
Instructions
- First, make the dough: combine with an electric mixer the softened butter and cream cheese. Add the flour and beat until incorporated. It might not come together into a dough just yet; use your hands to clump it together into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, grease 16 cups in a mini muffin pan with the extra butter, and preheat the oven to 350.
- Divide the dough into 16 equal-sized balls, then press the dough in the cups, as shown above.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, brown sugar, whiskey and pecans. Divide this mixture evenly among the dough cups.
- Bake for 20 minutes. The pecan filling with puff up and rise above the edges of the dough. Yummy!
Notes
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 184Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 46mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 3g
Just finished making these and theyโre pretty awesome! The perfect 4 bite treat. I actually quadrupled the recipe and made 21 tassies in a regular-sized muffin pan. I also recommend more pecans, you can never go wrong with more nuts ;)
Perfect! My husband doesnโt love nuts, let alone an entire pie full of them, so this rendition of a perfect pecan pie made bite size is just what I need! I wait all year to bake a pecan pie only to have a slice or two & not a bite more for another 364 days. AGONY! It looks like Iโll be indulging my pecan pie loving sweet tooth a bit more often! Thank you, as always, for yet another fabulous dessert! <3
I have pampered chef Mimi muffin panโฆ it specifically came with a wooden contraption that has a wide flat end on one side and a smaller flat and on the other side and itโs used 2 press dough into the muffin cups if you look on the Pampered Chef website maybe they sell the wooden-handled thing by itself
Is the nutrition for 8 little mini muffin pies or 16? Looks like Iโll be making 16 but the recipe says it makes 8.