Lotsa baking and cooking during the holidays. Holidays and work was just too crazy. During the Thanksgiving holiday I visited my Mom and while I was there, she offered me some cute, tasty little tart looking thingies. I knew what they were, even though I’d never made or tasted it. They were tassies! Pecan Tassies and they were YUM and addicting. They’re just too easy to — one, two bites and they’re gone OR pop the whole thing in your mouth!
My Mom surprised me when she pulled out all the ingredients and said she was going to make some more and show me how it was done in cute mini-muffin pans. I loved spending that time with her, watching and participating — baking with my Mom. I loved it as a kid … all this time later … I love it even now.
Baking with my Mom.
So the recipe to these little gems comes from The Pampered Chef. I was thinking that adding some coconut to it would be delicious too. Here’s the recipe with my addition of optionally adding coconut (sorry sis — I know how you’re allergic to coconut!):
Makes 24 tassies
Ingredients – Tart Shells
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
Ingredients – Filling
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecan halves, finely chopped
powdered sugar (optional)
1/4 cup finely chopped shredded coconut (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350°F. For tart shells, beat butter and cream cheese in Classic Batter Bowl until well blended. Add flour; mix until a soft dough forms.
- Using Small Scoop, shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls of dough into ungreased cups of Deluxe Mini-Muffin Pan. Dip Mini-Tart Shaper (or dowel that’s slightly smaller than your mini-cupcake wells) in flour; press into dough with even pressure until dough rises slightly above rim of pan.
- For filling, place butter in Small Batter Bowl; microwave on HIGH 30 seconds or until melted. Stir in brown sugar, egg and vanilla. Finely chop pecans using Food Chopper; add to batter bowl along with the optional coconut and mix well.
- Using Small Scoop, fill each tart shell with level scoop of filling (do not overfill). Bake 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven; cool in pan 3 minutes. Remove from pan to Stackable Cooling Rack; cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.
You’ll want to be sure to lightly flour the Mini-Tart Shaper before forming each shell to prevent the dough from sticking.
To store tarts, cool completely, then place in a tightly covered container. For longer storage, freeze up to 1 month. To thaw, let the tarts stand at room temperature. Sprinkle tarts with additional powdered sugar before serving for that finished touch!
