Pecan Tassies
Pecan tassies are one of those quintissential Christmas cookies that remind me of being a kid. I can remember sitting at the dining room table at my great aunt’s house, usually on my mom’s lap, and hand-picking treats off of the multiple cookie trays that were laid out. I always had my favorites, the ones I could pop in my mouth like candy, and these pecan tassies were at the top of the list. Even as a kid, I had love affair with pecan pie and so these cookies, which are bite-size renditions of the Thanksgiving classic, were always a must-have Christmas tradition for me.
I haven’t made these in quite a few years and for some reason I couldn’t find my copy of our family recipe. My mom hunted through all of her index cards, calls were made to my grandma and my great aunt, and this quickly became the phantom recipe. The most beloved recipe and suddenly no one could find their copy of the recipe! Conspiracy! My mom did another search of her books and finally found the original source – a ladies auxiliary cookbook for a local fire hall dating back to 1975. I love those yellowed pages – tried and true, battle-tested recipes passed on from generation to generation. I have had more than a few people tell me that these are the best pecan tassies they have ever had.
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I did the first batch of these by just rolling the dough into balls and pressing into the mini muffin cups, which is what the original recipe says to do. I had some trouble getting the dough a decent way up the sides of the cups without making it too thin and too thick in places. So for my second batch, I tried rolling out each little ball into a circle and then popping them into the muffin cups (seen above). That worked out much, much better and made for a more even (and deeper) crust. It’s slightly more time consuming, but I thought it yielded much better results.
I hope you love these cookies as much as our family does!
Is there a certain cookie or treat that reminds you of the holidays as a child?
One year ago: Peppermint Bark
Pecan Tassies
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) cream cheese
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
For the Filling:
- 1½ cups (330 g) light brown sugar
- 1 cup (99 g) chopped pecans, plus more for sprinkling on top
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare mini muffin pans by greasing cups if it is not a nonstick pan; set aside.
- To make the dough, beat together the butter, cream cheese and flour on low speed of a stand or hand mixer until all of the flour is incorporated. Divide the dough into 48 pieces and roll into balls. Place on a plate or in a zip-top bag and refrigerate for about an hour.
- Either press the dough balls into the muffin cups and up the sides, or flatten the balls slightly with your palm and use a rolling pin to roll into a disk about 2-3 inches in diameter (a little larger than the size of the muffin cup opening) and place into the muffin cups.
- To make the filling, mix together the brown sugar, chopped pecans, eggs, melted butter and vanilla extra with a spoon and then evenly divide it between the dough-lined mini muffin cups. Top each with some additional chopped pecans.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops are set. Cool for a few minutes in the muffin cups and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. The tassies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
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I lost my recipe for these wonderful cookies. Friends I gave the recipe too claimed they lost it too? I decided to try on line and God Bless You, who ever you are. Yours was the fist recipe to pop up and the recipe was a duplicate of mine., All I can say is GOD BLESS YOU! Have a wonderful Easter.. Thank You, Thank You!
Aww I’m so happy that this was the recipe you were looking for! Happy Easter!
Can’t wait to try these! Can they be frozen? If not, how long can they be stored at room temperature? Thanks.
Hi Kim, Yes, these freeze well! At room temperature, they will keep well for up to 1 week.
If you were going to use a whole 8oz block of cream cheese, how much butter and flour would you use? I hate to use partial containers of ingredients. LOL
Hi Lisa, You’d also need to increase them by one-third, so 1 1/3 cups butter and 2 2/3 cups flour.
These have been a Sicilian tradition for as long as I can remember. I make this every year around Christmas and people BEG me and my husband for some ! My mom lost the recipe and these are exactly the same ! Thank you !
With confectioners sugar on top !
I make these pecan tastiest. Love them. Sometimes the sugar isn’t quite dissolves when baked in the center. What would cause this?
Hi Linda, Hmmm it should dissolve when baked. Make sure they are completely done.
It calls for unsalted butter. Can we just used salted?
Hi Elaine, Yes, that would be okay.
USE UNSALTED. WE PEOPLE IN US HAVE TOO MUCH SALT BECAUSE YOU PEOPLE DONT COOK AT HOME AND ORDER YOUR STUFF FOR THE PAST 58 MONTHS. COOK AT HOME. YOU PEOPLE HAVE RUINED MY CHOICE TO GO TO THE REAIL STORES AND TO EAT AT RESTAURANTS.
I always use aboutique 1/2 tblsp. vinegar tof my pecan pie receipe to cut down some of the sweetness
Your post reminded me of how I came to love these little tarts. My granny in Texas first made them and they were in a cookbook called “Bell’s Best” which looks a lot like the pages from yours. It was a collection of recipes from BellSouth employees, also from the late 70’s. I made these so many times I had the recipe memorized. I live on the left coast now and it’s been a few years since I’ve made them so I needed a quick recipe reference (and stroll down memory lane). One addition, I sometimes also add 1/2tsp maple extract.
Merry Baking!
I just made these tonight. They came out yummy. I have one question, you said when they are cooled to put them in an air tight can, how long can they be stored that way for?
Hi Kathy, These can be kept for up to a couple of weeks.
Why don’t you use metric weights and measures in addition to cups, spoons ounces and other units? I can only work with grams and milliliters like everyone outside USA. Even Great Brittain adopted the metric system nowadays. Now there is no way to make these pecan tassies. Please consider my request.
You should be able to do a google search to convert the amounts to grams, etc.
This one’s a winner! I’ve never made them before, and wanted to make them for my granddaughter’s wedding (cookie table). I made a double batch and got 88 tassies. On a lightly floured silicone mat, I used a heavy old-fashion drink glass to press the balls into a circle before putting them into the pans – that worked well. After reading comments here and elsewhere about being hard to get out of pans, I sprayed my pans with Wilton Bake Easy and they came right out – every single one!
just made these. They came out perfect. One of my favorite cookies my mom used to make every Christmas.
I know it’s a shot in the dark- but is your recipe from Bell’s Best? It’s the book my family has used for years, every woman has a copy! Just thought that would be a funny coincidence!
Hi Bailey, No, it’s from a local church cookbook. But the person who submitted it very well could have gotten it from somewhere else!
Just finished making these wonderful cookies, just wondering if they can be put into the freezer till Christmas…thanks
You can use walnuts as well… before serving, you can dust them with a little confectionary sugar…they look really pretty on a dish lined with colored foil …
fyi-roll out dough-use a glass slightly larger than the opening of the mini cup cake pan-cut out circles lay one at a time over the tin-use the bottom of a floured shot glass to push in-it makes a perfect hole for your filling-much faster too
I was wondering if the cream cheese needs to be at room temperature prior to mixing it?
Hi Dawn, It’s not necessary, but you can!
years ago when my mom came home from the US (im from the philippines but now based in perth, western australia) she brought home some pecan tartlets which her US based friend made for her. it was so delicious, i didnt know what it was called nor did my mom have the recipe. a few days ago while browsing through your recipes i found pecan tassies! and what a revelation! i now know what it was called! LOL i made this just the other day and it was so yummy! the only thing is, what i liked about the tartlets my mom’s friend made was that it was a bit chewy. any tips on how to make it chewy? thanks for your wonderful recipes. i am making the chicago deep dish pizza tonight! all the beast!
Hi Dona, These actually should be very soft and chewy in the middle. Were your hard?
Yummy!!
This one also makes the new recipes list for Christmas. I am thinking about using the crust recipe on a regular pecan pie.
Hi Michelle. I was wondering if the butter and cream cheese has to be softened before working with. I would really like to make this for my little ones baptism party! :)
Hi Hien, Yes, at room temperature, so sorry that was omitted!
I like the dough better with 8 oz cream cheese instead of 6 oz.,
We’ve been making these for decades and our family is just as crazy about them. They disappear quicker than any cookie we make. Happy Holidays.
Every Christmas morning, my Mom would make these and my sister and I would eat them fresh from the oven, getting full before we even had Christmas lunch! I am having my first Christmas away from home this year and was so happy to come across your recipe. Easy and so delicious!! Thanks
This is the same recipe as that found in the 1969 Better Homes and Gardens “Cookies and Bars” book that I love. Great pictures. These are my favorite cookies.
Thanks for posting this! I couldn’t find my copy of the recipie and finding yours made my day!
i made a half batch of these tonight…one crumbled when i took it out of the pan…oh tragedy…smiles…it was delicious…easy and awesome…thanks!
I can’t wait to make this recipe. I just bought a mini muffin pan. How do you divide the dough into 48 pieces? Would you explain what you do? Also, any tips for getting the tassies out of the tins? Thank you.
Hi Janice, I used a kitchen scale (weighed the entire mass of dough first, then divide by 48 and make portions that size). But, you could also just gather the dough into a rectangle or square, and then slice into even pieces (6 rows by 8 rows, for example).
my mom had a copy of a recipe published in a newspaper dating to the 1950s i think. the original disappeared (needless to say we were devastated) so i’m not sure how old the clipping was – but most of the recipes i’ve since seen seem to reproduce the tassie to the best of my taste bud memory.
Can’t wait to make these!!!!!!!
I’d like to add dried cranberries to your pecan tassies recipe, how much would be a good amount for filling &sprinkling on top?
Hi Veronica, Hmm that’s a good question. I honestly am not sure how that would taste, I just can’t envision the combination of flavors and textures. If you added to the filling, I think you’d need to omit some of the pecans.
Do you have any idea why they’re called tassies? My mother made mini nut tarts (called Chess tarts) like this at holidays, but the filling also had raisins. I have adapted it and added cranberries and / or golden raisins, and sometimes walnuts instead of pecans. I have no idea where that name comes from either.
Hi Meredith, I actually have no idea either! I asked my mom and she was stumped as well. Probably just one of those things!