Sibling Cutlery

School’s out school’s out school’s out! Holy crap, that was a tough semester. I’ve been neglecting you guys to stay afloat, and to make up for it, it’s time for HOLIDAY COOKIE MADNESS with special guest chef, OUR MOM. I’ve got some great recipes to share. Some are classics, some a little different, and one is just… well, weird. So hold on tight, because there are three days until Christmas, and there are pounds of butter to turn into delicious treats before the fat man comes.

We’re starting off with Pecan Tassies, which are basically tiny pecan pies. This is the first time I’ve made them myself, but I adore them. Pecan is definitely my favorite pie. Key lime is also definitely my favorite pie. They’re both favorite. But these are like pecan pies. Tiny, adorable, pecan pies.

Here are your ingredients:

I apologize for the serious Great Value advertising. I guess I’m just balancing out my usual pile of Meijer groceries. I’m all about the store brands, man.

Start out beating softened cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer…

until is is smooth and blended. Make sure to scrape down the bowl.

Slowly beat in flour, scraping the bowl as needed. You might need to leave this in longer than you expect, as the first time I went to take the dough out, it was still pretty crumbly and not as evenly mixed as it should have been. In other words, don’t be as impatient as I am.

When the dough is mixed, form it into a ball, wrap it in saran wrap, and toss it in the fridge (or the big fridge outside) for at least an hour.

After you’ve chilled the dough, ask your mom to separate it into 24 balls and place them into mini muffin tins and preheat the oven to 350.

Since she did such a lovely job, just have her keep on going and press the dough into the tins and up the sides.

Wonderful! While she’s doing that, chop up some pecans and mix them with a beaten egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Here’s where it starts looking like delicious pie. But don’t eat it yet! No one wants salmonella for Christmas.

Spoon just under a tablespoon of the pecan mixture into each little shell. My mom and I also placed a whole pecan on the top of each tassie, just to cute them up a bit.

These bake for about 25 minutes. They’ll be a nice light brown when they’re done. The recipe that I used suggested drizzling them with chocolate, but honestly I don’t think that they need it. As they are, they’re not too sweet, but they’re definitely decadent.

Pecan Tassies

Adapted from Allrecipes

4 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 egg

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

Beat together cream cheese and butter until well mixed. Slowly add flour and mix until dough is evenly blended. Form into a ball, wrap, and chill for at least an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough into 24 balls and place in mini muffin tins, pressing onto the bottoms and up the sides. Beat one egg lightly, then mix in brown sugar, vanilla, and pecans. Spoon a scant tablepoon of the pecan mixture into each shell, then bake for 25 minutes or until light brown.