I Tried the Most Popular Christmas Cookie in the South and I’ll Be Making Them Forever

While pecan pie will always be a favorite dessert, this mini version easily beats a slice. Pecan tassies are a cross between pecan pie and cookies resulting in the ideal bite-size treat. 

Made with a simple three-ingredient dough to produce a flaky, buttery crust and paired with a gooey brown sugar and pecan filling with a crisp topping, I knew I had to put this recipe to the test. The result was even more delicious than I had imagined.

Get the recipe: Pecan Tassies

1. In a mixing bowl, beat together six tablespoons of softened butter and half of a block of softened cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in the flour to form the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Remove the dough from the fridge. 
3. Use cooking spray to grease mini muffin tins very well. Divide the dough into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten it. Press each piece of dough into each of the mini muffin tins creating a cup shape. 
4. In a small mixing bowl, beat brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, the remaining two tablespoons of butter, one egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in chopped pecans. 
5. Scoop a tablespoon of the pecan filling into each pastry cup. Bake for 22 minutes.
6. Let the pecan tassies cool in the muffin pans for 15 minutes before removing them. Use a knife to loosen them as needed. Finish cooling on a wire rack.

At first glance, these little treats don’t look like anything special. They have a great shape and color, but the pecan topping doesn’t make them out to be the prettiest cookie. Luckily, the flavor and texture make up for that tenfold. 

The recipe is quick and easy to make. Starting off with the three-ingredient dough takes no time at all. However, mine didn’t seem to come together as I had hoped. It was a bit dry and crumbly, so I added one tablespoon of water to help it form. 

I was surprised by how flaky the crust was all thanks to just a simple mixture of butter, cream cheese, and flour. It’s buttery, soft, and absolutely melts in your mouth. At first bite, the pecan filling is crisp on the top but it leads into a gooey texture with a hint of crunch from the pecans. The addition of cinnamon makes for spot-on flavor, complementing the notes of brown sugar without being too sweet. 

1. Grease your pans well. There’s no paper liners to save us here! Be sure to grease your mini muffin tins and do it very well. I used cooking spray and a basting brush to be sure my tins were thoroughly coated around the sides and just above the top. This will make getting your tassies out that much easier. 
2. Don’t overfill: The filling doesn’t bubble up very much while baking. However, the more filling that doesn’t stay in the pastry cup, the harder the pecan tassies will be to remove from the muffin tins in one piece. Measure out a heaping tablespoon for each and don’t go beyond that. 
3. Dress them up: This bite-sized sweet is absolutely delicious, but they could be that much better dressed up. Consider drizzling the tops with chocolate after they’re baked or dusting them with powdered sugar to enhance the look. 

Get the recipe: Pecan Tassies