Pecan Tassies

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Pecan pie is a mainstay of any good Thanksgiving feast, but why not make a bunch of mini pecan tassies instead? These little gems are the pecan version of Canadian butter tarts made with a cream cheese pastry.

For more great pecan-based holiday recipes, try my candied pecans, pecan pie without corn syrup or pecan sandies!

Pecan Tassies

A pecan tassie is a delicious little dessert – on the surface, it basically looks like a regular pecan pie that has been shrunken down to almost bite-sized and for us Canadians, it just looks like a butter tart!

However, there is more to meet the eye with pecan tassies – with a name coming from the old Scottish word for a drinking goblet due to their shape, pecan tassies take the texture and flavor of a pecan pie and shrink it into a bite-sized package with a tangy cream cheese pastry instead of pie crust.                                             

Pecan Tassies Ingredients

Don’t forget to look at the recipe card at the bottom of the page for all of the ingredient amounts needed here.

Cream Cheese Pastry

• Cream cheese softened to room temperature

• Softened salted butter

• All-purpose flour

Pecans

• Chopped pecans

Filling

• Large egg

• Brown sugar

• Melted salted butter

• Whipping cream

• Vanilla extract

How To Make Pecan Tassies

• Blend together the cream cheese and butter until smooth with no lumps

• Mix in the flour until combined, and then chill for an hour

• Divide the chilled mixture into 24 balls and press the dough into deep well muffin tins

• Sprinkle half of the pecans into the bottom of each pastry

• Mix together the filling ingredients until completely combined

• Divide the filling between the cups and then sprinkle the remaining pecans on top

• Bake in the oven at 325 Fahrenheit for 20 minutes until the filling has set and the pastry is golden brown and; once cooked, cool them completely in the tins and then remove

The Secret To The Crust

The crust portion of this recipe will likely confuse a few people expecting a standard pie crust recipe. The use of nothing more than some butter, cream cheese, and flour to make a crust doesn’t seem like it should work, but it actually makes something really delicious.

The cream cheese gives it all of the flavor, texture, and mouthfeel that you would expect, while the butter gives it that crumbliness and slightly crispy texture on the exterior.

While it might be tempting to ignore any advice and just go straight for a traditional pie crust, definitely give this cream cheese pastry a try, as it makes everything tie together so well.

The Humble Pecan

The natural range of the pecan sits firmly in the American south, with most of them sitting in Texas and along the Mississippi. Their primary season for harvests is around mid-October, which is one of the reasons why you so often see pecan pies for Thanksgiving and why pecans feature so heavily in Southern desserts.

We don’t use them as much in Canadian baking traditionally, but thanks to global shipping pecans can be found in your local grocery store and in the last few decades we have been baking with them more and more!

Looking for more delicious Pie recipes? Try these out:

• Classic Apple Pie

• Campfire Cherry Hand Pies

• Coconut Custard Easter Pie

These are a really delicious addition to your dessert tray and are perfect for right beside your butter tarts!

Enjoy!

Love,

Karlynn

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