Pecan Tassies

To me, nothing says Thankgiving like Pecan Tassies. Well, excpet for maybe the turkey & dressing.

And, pumpkin pie.

Regardless, I only make Pecan Tassies around Thanksigiving. These are the perfect dessert fingerfood for the Holiday season. I've been waiting and waiting on BBLady to post the recipe, but I see she's too busy peddling her chocolate porn to worry about something timely like pecans.

Most Tassie recipes are quite similar & the main problem I've always had has been too much filling and not enough dough. I had the same issue again last night & modified the amounts for this recipe. This should make 60-70 tassies. If you think you need less, try this recipe. It makes 24-30, but there will be quite a bit of filling leftover/wasted. Besides, if you think you don't need 70 tassies, you are obviously hanging out with the wrong crowd.

Pecan Tassies

Dough:

6 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup butter, also at room temp
2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream together butter & cream cheese with the electric mixer. Add flour & mix until it starts to form a ball. Shape the dough into a large ball, wrap with plastic & refrigerate until easy to handle (at least one hour).

Shape dough into small balls about 1 ½ inch in diameter. Place into mini-muffin pan and press into "cups". I use my Pampered Chef dough shaper.

Filling:

• 3 T butter, melted
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ cup light brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ - 1 cup of chopped pecans

Mix the filling ingredients together with a wire whisk. Fill dough cups about ¾ full. I use the PC mini scoop. Bake at 325F for 30 minutes or until the dough is very lightly browned & the filling mostly set.

Remove immediately from the pan & cool on a rack. Tarts should come out of the pan easily. Unless the filling runs over the edges - then it might be stuck. Run a butter knife along the edge to loosen.

I don't know for a fact, but I've seen several references that these freeze well. Which is great. Make ahead of time & defrost at room temperature when you need them.

Enjoy! ~HausFrau

Mini Lemon Tarts

Difficulty: Easy

If you like lemons this is for you. If not, what's your problem?

When life hands you lemon, make a tart!

Crust:

• 3 oz cream cheese soft
• ½ cup butter softened to room temperature
• 1 ½ cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Filling:

• Zest & Juice 3-4 lemons to make 1/3 cup of juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup butter, melted

Mix all of the ingredients for the crust with an electric mixer, then chill for one hour.

For the filling: in the food processor, thoroughly combine the first three ingredients including the zest. Then slowly add the butter. After combining, pour into a double boiler & cook over simmering water until it starts to get thicken. It usually takes around 10 minutes. Remove from the stove and let cool.

In the meantime, spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick baking spray & preheat the oven to 350F. Using a small scoop, scoop crust into the muffin pan. Press crust into the pan until the edges are just level with the pan. Cook in oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

Using a spoon or small scoop, fill the crusts with the lemon filling. Place in the refrigerator until cold.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

If you would like you may add fresh whipped cream to the top of each one right before serving.

Bake time: 20 minutes

Prep time: 15 minutes, plus 1 hour chill time

Tip: I put the crust in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill