Light Pecan Tassies In Cream Cheese Pastry Recipes

PECAN TASSIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the dough: Process pecans in a food processor until finely ground (you should have about 1/2 cup); set aside. Put mascarpone or cream cheese and butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until well blended. Add flour, ground pecans, and salt; mix just until dough comes together. Alternatively, stir together ingredients with a wooden spoon in a large bowl.
• Roll dough into eighteen 1-inch balls, and press into bottoms and up sides of cups of mini-muffin tins.
• Make the filling: Whisk the egg, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, butter, and salt in a small bowl. Stir in pecans. Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons filling into each muffin cup.
• Bake pecan tassies until crust begins to turn golden, about 20-22 minutes. Let cool completely in tins on wire rack. Unmold. Pecan tassies can be stored in single layers in airtight containers up to 3 days.

PECAN TASSIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth; gradually beat in flour. Refrigerate, covered, 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 375°. Shape dough into 1-in. balls; press evenly onto bottoms and up sides of greased mini muffin cups., For filling, in a small bowl, mix egg, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and salt until blended. Stir in 1/3 cup pecans; spoon into pastries. Sprinkle with remaining pecans., Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are golden and filling is puffed. Cool in pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Freeze option: Freeze cooled cookies, layered between waxed paper, in freezer containers. To use, thaw in covered containers.

LIGHT PECAN TASSIES IN CREAM CHEESE PASTRY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• To prepare Pastry: Combine flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, dash of salt in a small bowl. Combine cream cheese, butter and milk in large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.
• Add flour mixture; beat at low speed until just blended and crumbly.
• Press into a ball. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead lightly 3 to 4 times.
• Divide dough into 24 portions, Place 1 portion in each of 24 mini muffin cups coated with the cooking spray.
• Using your fingers, press dough into bottom and up sides of cups.
• To prepare filling: divide pecans evenly among muffin cups.
• Combine brown sugar and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; spoon about 2 teaspoons filling over pecans in each muffin cup.
• Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until pastry is lightly browned and filling is puffy.
• Cool in cups for 10 minutes on a wire rack.
• Run a knife around the outside edge of each cup and remove them from the pan, allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

CREAM CHEESE PECAN TASSIES

Steps:

• Beat flour, butter and cream cheese in bowl.
• Refrigerate 1 hour.
• Roll into 1" balls.
• Press each ball into greased wells of small muffin tin, forming cups; set aside.
• Bring remaining ingredients to a boil.
• Pour hot mixture, 1 Tbsp at a time, into cups.
• Bake in 400° oven for 12-15 minutes.