I was 18 years the first time I had a Pecan Tassie. I had just finished my freshman year of college and was spending a couple of days with my mom's cousin, Amy, and her partner, Jean, at their house in the Columbia Gorge (White Salmon, WA to be exact). While I was there Jean did some of her holiday baking and I watched with fascination as she got out a stack of miniature muffin tins and started packing pastry crusts into each cup. She topped each crust with a batter of sugar, spices and finely chopped pecans. Soon after they were out of the oven, she offered me one to try and in one bite, I fell hard.
Ten years later, my love had not diminished. The pecan tassie and I are tight, and knowing of my affection, Jean makes an entire batch just for me each season. She and Amy are now living out here in Philly and I got an email from them just recently reminding me that I can't go back to Oregon for the holidays without a tin of tassies to take along with me.
If you have never had a pecan tassie, I implore you to give them a shot. You can find them in some bakeries, but as with other holiday delicacies, they are best when you make them yourself. They are a bit labor intensive, but the results are well worth it. Check out the recipe after the jump...Pecan Tassies
2 cups butter
1 1/2 (12 ounces total) packages cream cheese
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
.
Mix together the butter and cream cheese until well blended. Beat in flour, 1 cup at a time, until the mixture forms a dough. Roll into small balls, and press into the bottoms and sides of tart pans or mini muffin pans, making sure to get it as smooth and even as you can.
In another bowl, mix together the eggs, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the pecans. Fill each of the crusts 2/3 full with the mixture.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, until shell is light brown, and the filling has puffed up a bit. Cool, and carefully remove from pans. They are excellent with coffee.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-29-2007 @ 5:31PM
rckymtnski said...
I remember these growing up: They were called "Tea Time Tassies" by my mother, who is from Nebraska.(but she moved away!)
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11-30-2007 @ 9:57AM
eva said...
Yay! My Georgian (the state, not the country) mom always makes these, and they're so dangerous. I really adore the cream cheese crust, which also does full justice to any sort of quichey filling.
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11-30-2007 @ 11:06AM
Beth said...
My Nana used to make these every Christmas as well. I remember not liking them all that much.... but appreciated the work that went into them! My favorite Christmas cookie is (I don't remember the name) this little flaky sandwich cookie with either red or green icing as a filling. Delicious.
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11-30-2007 @ 12:04PM
Kathryn said...
These have a name?!
Hahaha, my mother's been making these since before I was born -- these are the fist Christmas cookies I ever learned to bake. I love them! The only difference, I think, is that my mother doesn't use cream cheese in the crust; I'm pretty sure it's all butter, haha. Maybe I'll try making them this way this Christmas.
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12-02-2007 @ 5:23PM
Mary said...
Thank you so much, I am starting a catering service in Pacific County, WA. It is a small rural community and I have my first party on Thursday, 12-6-07. I got some great ideas from this web sight. Thank you so much once again,
Mary
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12-15-2007 @ 9:54PM
Courtney said...
As all of you, I too love these tassies. I have a problem though, maybe someone could offer some help. When I bake the tassies, the tops of the filling hardens, like a brownie top. The consistency of the filling inside is right but how do I prevent the top hardening?
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