Pecan Tassies

These pecan tassies are a real Southern treat. The recipe is from a cookbook published by Southern Living in 1978, called Our Best Recipes Volume three.

The shells lend themselves well to any filling. Lemon Curd is a favorite of mine or you could do a savory filling. If you are not going to bake the filling, you will have to bake the shells longer, but I wouldn’t recommend that. Try a crab or chicken filling that needs to bake for about 15 to17 minutes.

The only warning I need to give you about these is that they don’t last. Way to easy to pick one up and eat it. You will find that everyone really likes them and they are a great finger food to serve at a party or to a small group of your friends.

That is if you can keep your family from eating them all up before the party.

Pecan Tassies - Southern Living

Yield 2 dozen Tassies

Pastry Shells

1 (3 ounce ) package cream cheese softened

1/2 cup butter softened

1 cup all purpose flour

Combine cream cheese and butter; blend until smooth. Add flour, mixing well.

Refrigerate dough 1 hour; then shape into 24 balls. Put each ball in a greased mini muffin pan. With fingers or a tamper shape into a shell (on the bottom and up the sides).

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes before filling. Let cool a few minutes and then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

These will puff up some so be sure not to have the dough too thick in the cups of the pan. *

Filling

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tablespoon butter softened

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cups chopped pecans

Combine first ingredients, mixing well; spoon 1 teaspoonful filling into each pastry shell. Bake at 350° for 17 minutes.

*I really think that there is enough dough to make another 4 to 6 tassies. I always have some filling left over. I freeze it and when I have some pie crust scraps use it up that way. However, if you make the balls smaller you could use it up at the time.