By Kat Nielsen

Gooey centers and butter tender crusts are why pecan tassies are such a favorite in my home!

Pecan tassies aka mini pecan tarts are a beautiful way to churn out delicious baked goods in a crunch before the holidays (thirty minutes or less). Even if you need a last minute gift idea for your trainer or for your local tack store, the tassies wrap up beautifully and transport well for gifting or receiving.

Miniature desserts are generally more time consuming, and I’ll agree with you on that. But the reason I turn to this recipe in the countdown before Christmas is that it takes just as long to make the dough and filling as cookies, and pressing the tart dough into your mini muffin tin is actually quite therapeutic- mashing and pressing down does get excess frustrations out, especially on repeat. The baking time is just under twenty minutes, and that’s for twenty four delicious pecan tarts….not bad, huh? And even if you are watching your waistline, you won’t feel near as bad indulging in one tassie at a time.

Pecan tassies don’t require a lot of heavy lifting -easy, delicious and look beautiful!

P.S. They also freeze well.

P.P.S. Mom’s recipe always said to make a double batch. Do it.

To full plates and eating your tarte out,

Tassies made with hickory nuts or pecans make a wonderful holiday treat.

Pecan Tassies

3 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of flour
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 egg
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of ground pecans or hickory nuts
1 teaspoon of white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and butter. Add in the salt and flour till just combined. Using a mini muffin tin, press in a heaping teaspoon of dough to cover the bottoms and sides of the tin. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Mix till throughly combined. Fill the crusts to about 1/4″ from the top, do not overfill.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops are set and crust is lightly brown. Allow to cool in pan. Remove gently, use a butter knife as needed.

About the writer: Author Kat Nielsen is a horse enthusiast turned food blogger. She maintains a day job in the horse world handling marketing and brand support to various companies, while enjoying her evenings and weekends writing recipes and blogging all about her culinary experiences. Visit her blog at EatYourTarteOut.com or email her at tartechic@eatyourtarteout.com.