Happy Memorial Day! While most people were grilling this weekend, I was in the kitchen whipping up some Pecan Tassies and homemade vanilla ice cream.
My childhood home had a backyard pecan tree that I didn’t appreciate. To me, the bearer of pecans was more useful for the treehouse we built in its limbs.
I’ve never been crazy about nuts in my sweets. I prefer them encrusting fish or adding crunch to a salad. But I acquiesced to my hubby, who loves all manner of pecan desserts. The cookies with a cream cheese “crust” could definitely grow on me.
Pecan Tassies
Makes 12 large or 24 mini cookies | Adapted from Jim Hillibish
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1⁄2 cup butter plus 1 tablespoon, divided, at room temperature
1 cup flour
1 egg
3⁄4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash salt
2⁄3 cup pecans, some whole, some coarsely broken
For the pastry cups: Cream together cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter. Mix in flour. Chill about 1 hour.
Roll dough into 12 balls; place in ungreased muffin pans. Press the dough against the bottoms and up sides to make cups.
For the filling: Beat together egg, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon butter, vanilla and salt until smooth.
Drop half of the pecans into dough cups. Pour brown sugar filling over pecans. Sprinkle remaining pecans on top.
Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until filling is set. Cool, then remove from pans.
Served with homemade vanilla ice cream. Recipe by David Lebovitz.
Nicole M. Markle 