Pecan tassies are bite-size pecan pies: a cream-cheese pastry pressed into a mini muffin tin and filled with a brown-sugar pecan mixture. They bake faster than a full pie and are easy to pass on a dessert tray. This is not a substitute for how to make pecan pie; it is a smaller, cookie-like version. See also pecan pie bars, the Thanksgiving guide, and Thanksgiving desserts.
Make a cream-cheese crust
Beat 4 ounces of softened cream cheese with 8 tablespoons of softened butter until smooth, then mix in 1 cup of flour and a pinch of salt to make a soft dough. Chill it for 30 to 60 minutes so it is easier to handle. Divide the dough into 24 small balls and press each one into a mini muffin cup, covering the bottom and sides in a thin, even shell. A tart tamper or the back of a floured measuring spoon helps. If the dough gets sticky, chill the tin for 10 minutes before you fill it.
Fill, bake, and cool before unmolding
Stir 1 egg, ¾ cup of packed brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of melted butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and a pinch of salt, then fold in about ⅔ cup of chopped pecans. Spoon the filling into the shells, filling each cup only about three-quarters full so the filling can puff. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the centers are set. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then loosen the tassies with a thin knife and finish cooling them on the rack. Store them covered at room temperature for a day, or refrigerate them for 3 to 4 days. Related: how to fix a runny pecan pie if you are also baking a full pie, and mini Thanksgiving pies for muffin-tin pies with a traditional crust.
Toast the pecans lightly in a dry skillet before you chop them if you want a deeper flavor, and let them cool so they do not melt the filling. A metal mini muffin tin browns the pastry better than a very dark nonstick pan, which can overbake the bottoms; start checking at 18 minutes if your tin is dark. If a tassie sticks, run the thin knife around it again after another few minutes of cooling rather than forcing it out while the filling is molten. These are a good dessert to pack in a single layer in a tin for a potluck, and they sit more safely at room temperature for a short time than a large custard pie.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between pecan tassies and pecan pie?
Tassies use a cream-cheese pastry in a mini muffin tin and are eaten like cookies. Pecan pie is a full custard pie in a standard crust.
Can I make pecan tassies ahead?
Yes. Bake them a day ahead and keep them covered, or freeze the cooled tassies and thaw them at room temperature.
Why did the filling overflow?
The cups were too full, or the filling was very loose. Fill each shell only about three-quarters of the way.
Helpful kitchen tools
- OXO Good Grips 11-Inch Balloon Whisk — A whisk is enough for the brown-sugar filling.
- OXO Good Grips Bent Icing Spatula — Useful for loosening cooled tassies from the mini muffin tin.
- OXO Good Grips 2-Cup and 4-Cup Glass Measuring Cup Set — Handy for measuring flour and the filling ingredients.
- OXO Good Grips 11-Pound Digital Kitchen Food Scale — A scale helps you divide the dough into even balls.
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