Grandma Rose’s Pecan Tassies

A plate of mini pecan tarts with a mini muffin tin of them i nthe background, a red and green striped towel and some broken pieces of it.

Grandma Rose’s Pecan Tassies

My Grandma Rose's pecan tassies are a family favorite! They look (and taste) like mini pecan pies and are surprisingly easy to make. With a few simple ingredients and a flakey cream cheese pastry crust, they look so pretty on a holiday cookie tray!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Low Salt

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 25

Total Time 2 25

Servings cookies

Calories 318kcal

Author Jessy Freimann

Equipment

Ingredients

Crust:

8 ounces cream cheese softened
¾ cups salted butter softened (1 ½ sticks)
2 ⅔ cups all purpose flour

Filling:

3 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
1 ½ Tablespoons salted butter
1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounces chopped pecans

Instructions

For the crust:

Beat together the cream cheese and the butter; add flour and mix. Refrigerate for at least an hour to overnight.
Spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
Roll into nut-sized balls and press into the mini muffin tins. I did this by poking my finger into the middle of each ball and using that as my guide to press it into place.
At this point the recipe says to refrigerate the tins all night but I just put it into the fridge while I prepare the filling.

Make the filling:

Mix the brown sugar, remaining butter, eggs and vanilla until combined.

Assembly:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take a small amount of nuts and put them at the bottom of each tart shell.
Next put a small amount of the brown sugar mixture (don't fill them up to the top, as the filling expands a bit while baking). Top with a bit more nuts.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool completely and serve.

Video

Notes

Use a mini muffin tin. I know this is a pretty specific piece of equipment, but it really will give you perfectly sized tassies. A full-sized muffin tin is too large.

Extra chilling time- My grandmother always used to chill the cream cheese dough overnight before adding it to the muffin tins. But if you're impatient like me, you could chill yours for an hour.

Adding the crust- I did this by poking my finger into the middle of each ball and using that as my guide to press it into place. I'm pretty sure if Rosie were here she'd have a lot to say about their size. Specifically, they are a bit too thick because you want the crust to be on the thinner side. I could never get this as well as she could, so I do it the best I can!

Don't overfill the tarts. The filling expands while it bakes and you don't want any overflow. A little under the top is perfect.

Watch carefully for browning. Keep a close eye on the mini tarts toward the end of the baking time. When the crust is golden brown and the filling is set, pull them out of the oven.

Ingredients to prep ahead- If you have the time to chill the crust, you could make it up to 24 hours before assembling and baking the tarts. You could also chop the pecans in advance.

Leftovers and storage- You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months! Flash freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to an airtight container for the best results.

Nutrition