For the 1950s themed week, I made pecan tassies. Recipe author Anne Bryn explained the origin of these mini pies, writing, "Tassies were first mentioned in newspapers in the 1950s and seem to be a recipe that came out of a food editor conference, as in a food company developed the recipe to promote its product and passed it along to the editors to share with their readers.”

While I have never had pecan pie, I imagine these have a very similar flavor profile considering the filling is essentially just a pecan pie filling. They had a great flavor that was the perfect combination of nutty and sweet. The crust was very easy to make and ended up being quite flaky. These were super easy to whip together so I imagine they may be a frequent treat for me to make.

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Kate’s Pecan Tassies

Recipe from American Cookie by Anne Byrn

Makes about 30 tassies

Ingredients

For the crust:

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 3 ounces cream cheese, chilled (see Baking Tips)
  
  

  For the filling:
  

• 1 large egg, at room temperature
  
• ½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
  
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• Pinch of salt
  
• ⅔ cup finely chopped pecans, divided use (about 2.75 ounces, see Baking Tips)
  
  

  Directions
  

1. For the crust, cut the butter into ½" cubes and place them in a bowl in the freezer until firm, 15 to 20 minutes.
   
2. Place the flour in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the frozen butter cubes and pulse 30 to 40 times, or until it is the texture of oatmeal. Cut the cream cheese into 4 pieces and distribute these on top of the butter and flour. Pulse about 15 times, until the dough begins to pull together. With your hands, gather the dough and press it together into a ball. It may seem dry at first, but keep pressing. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days.
   
3. When ready to bake, place a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 325°F. Remove the dough from the fridge. Pinch off pieces of dough that are about ½ tablespoon in size. Press these into the ungreased 2” wells of a mini muffin or cupcake pan. You will fill about 30 wells with dough. Press the dough so that it covers the bottom and sides of the well to form a miniature crust. Place the pans in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
   
4. For the filling, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and salt in a medium-size bowl until smooth.
   
5. Remove the crusts from the refrigerator. Scatter half of the pecans evenly into the bottom of the crusts, using about ½ teaspoon each in each crust. Using a small spoon, portion the egg and sugar mixture over the nuts, evenly filling the crusts a little more than halfway and not allowing the filling to get between the pan and the shell. Sprinkle the remaining pecans on top of the filling. Wipe any drops of filling off the pan, and place the pan in the oven.
   
6. Bake the tassies until the crust is lightly golden brown, 28 to 32 minutes. Let the tassies cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around each crust. Transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling or to a plate to serve slightly warm. These keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or you can freeze them in that container for up to 1 month.
   
   BAKING TIPS: This recipe was developed back when 3-ounce packages of cream cheese were easy to find. If you have an 8-ounce block of cream cheese, the amount needed for this recipe will be slightly less than half. Or use a kitchen scale to weigh out the exact 3 ounces. The pecans should be well chopped so that there aren’t large pieces of pecan, but not so finely chopped that they are minced. Striking that balance will be up to you and your chopping knife.