Day two of the Twelve days of Cookies finds this home paying homage to the Pecan. (Honestly, you can’t be a Texan if you aren’t making something with pecans.) The cookie of the day? The Pecan Tassie, from the era of big hair, heavy metal, Depeche Mode and Cindy Lauper. Gourmet Magazine’s top cookie pick for 1985, and with good reason!
Gourmet stated that these little gems reminded them of pecan pie. I don’t get that when I taste them, but what I do get is a mouthful of wonderful. The texture and flavor of these cookies is a bit surprising. The dough is a bit cake-like, but the topping is very crunchy. The contrast between the two is wonderful.
The downside? These cookies don’t hit their stride until they’ve had a chance to sit overnight and cool completely. I tried them last night when still warm and honestly, I didn’t like them much. But this morning… Ah, I’m singing a different tune altogether now.. How bout “Just can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode. It’s fitting for the time, and I like the song!
So, my thoughts on these… A definite thumbs up for us. We’ll be making these again, I guarantee it.
Now go make some. Do it now so that you can enjoy them with your coffee in the morning! Resist the urge to try them warm! They’re soooo much better the next day it’s just unbeleivable. Trust me on this.
And don’t forget to check out the other members of our crazy little group. We’re all making the twelve cookies we thought we’d like most, so you can be sure that there are other great recipes out there for your cookie indulgence. The list is at the bottom of the post!
Pecan Tassies:
(Adapted from Gourmet Magazine’s Favorite Cookies, 1941-2008. Method rewritten for clarity.)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 3 oz. cream cheese, slightly softened
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/8 tsp. vanilla
- A pinch of salt
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine 1 stick butter with cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric beater. reduce speed to low and gradually add in the flour until dough form into a ball. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces and press each piece into the bottom and up the sides of 24 well buttered mini-muffin tins.
In a small bowl beat the egg lightly with the brown sugar, stir in pecans, remaining butter, vanilla and salt. Divide filling among pastry-lined tins.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is puffed slightly and pastry is golden. Cool completely on a wire rack before removing. (I suggest overnight to get the maximum flavor from these little gems)
To remove: run the edge of a paring knife carefully around the edge of each Tassie to loosen from muffin tin. gently lift out with the point of the blade.
Serve and Enjoy!
What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:
I would have waited to try these until the next day… Other than that, I think I want to try a bourbon chocolate version or a turtle version in the future, but these bad boys rock!
My co-conspirators:
- Kelly of Sass & Veracity
- Judy of No Fear Entertaining
- Claire of the Barefoot Kitchen
- Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench
- Courtney of CoCo Cooks
- And Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes, who first thought of inviting us in on this little blog party.
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Category : Recipes
Look incredible. They almost look like a little butter tart! I figured these would be good when I saw them!
Why is it Im missing some really interestign ones when I looked for recipes. They look like little bites of heaven.
Darn, now I’ve got Depeche Mode stuck in my head! But so worth it – these look amazing. I’m marking a whole new batch to make once my 12 choices are done.
I love me some pecans, and these would be no exception! They sound yummers, but they’re not on my list. Hmmm…that could be changed since I have a ton of pecans. I know what you mean about letting them sit. It’s all about patience, and I have absolutely none. ;)
These look good. My sister in laws make miniature pecan pies and call them pecan tassies. (So what’s a tassie anyway?) I love pecans.
I chose one pecan cookie and had a great deal of difficulty selecting the one. Now you’re making me wish I’d chosen these, they look to die for.
I like these, they loo like little cakes. Is the egg necessary ? Can baking o=powder do the same job ? I am liking your 12 days of cookies event.
I have always loved Pecan Tassies. I sometimes add some dried cranberries to add a festive feel as well. Excellent choice Jerry!!!
Judy,
They’re basically itty-bitty pecan pies, but with a cream cheese crust. Fabuloso!
courtney,
My wife and I each picked six. I think this was one of her choices.
kellypea,
I don’t care when you make ‘em. Just make ‘em! We usually give our cookies away. These ain’t going anywhere!
Diana,
My assumption would be that they were first made by someone named “Tassie”
Andrea,
That’s just my mad photo skillz, LOL! They really aren’t very pretty to look at, but folks will get over that pretty quickly once they taste them!
Bellini Valli,
Cranberries might be pretty good as well, but I’m still wanting to try with my wife’s bourbon pecan pie filling. Yummers!
My kids both picked these as one of their choices. Yours look wonderful!
Your description of these was so great that I’ve been itching to make them – and I just have (with walnuts instead of pecans, cos that’s what I had to hand). I couldn’t help eating several shortly after they came out of the oven and I think they were pretty good warm, so I can’t wait for tomorrow’s early coffee break to have the full morning-after tassie experience … Thanks!
[...] pecan tassies, taken from Gourmet Magazine’s favourite cookie recipes 1941-2008 by way of the Cooking… by the Seat of My Pants blog. Tassies, in the miniature pie sense of the word, were entirely new to me, but the description [...]
[...] out my list of recipes at the beginning of this 12 days of cookies challenge – but once I saw Jerry’s post on the Pecan Tassies, I knew I had to have them. A cookie that’s a cake and pecan pie all in one? Impossible, [...]
I’m from Georgia, so pecans are an institution! I wish I had found your blog before Christmas so I could have made these for my family. But they’re definitely going to make an appearance in my kitchen soon!
[...] out my list of recipes at the beginning of this 12 days of cookies challenge – but once I saw Jerry’s post on the Pecan Tassies, I knew I had to have them. A cookie that’s a cake and pecan pie all in one? Impossible, [...]
perfection! i added a couple of fresh cranberries to each. yummmmmm….