These Mini Southern Pies Will Be the Talk of Your Holiday Party
These little pecan pies triple-down on the pecan flavor in the crust, the filling, and as a topping. They're buttery, gooey, nutty, and ready for your holiday party.
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There are a few menu items that must be served at an old-fashioned Southern holiday party, including sausage balls, friendship tea, and pecan tassies—bite-size pecan pies with a fabulously gooey filling and shortbread cookie–like crust. The name "tassie" comes from the Scottish word for small cup, which in turn comes from the French word tasse. It's not hard to see why "cups" made out of short crust filled with a caramelly bourbon-spiked pecan mixture are popular party bites.
Our version of these pecan tartlets, created by our Birmingham, Alabama-based colleague Nicole Hopper, showcases pecans in the dough for the tartlet shells and in the pie filling, as well as a garnish for each little pie, packing the nut's rich, buttery flavor into each bite.
For the recipe, you'll start by taking all the pecan halves called for in the recipe and setting aside the 24 prettiest ones to save for decorating each tartlet. Then you'll toast the rest of the pecans in the oven to bring out their nuttiness and then grind some of them to use in the crust and chop the rest to use in the filling. Why not toast them all? Nicole found in her testing that the pecans used for garnish burned when baked if they'd been pre-toasted, so make sure to set those them aside.
Incorporating some of the pecans into the dough for the tart shells boosts the buttery pecan flavor of the finished tartlets. The crust, which one taster described as "almost shatteringly tender," also contains cream cheese—a traditional pecan tassie dough ingredient—which enhances the tenderness of the crust and also provides a tiny bit of tartness to help balance the sweetness of the filling. A generous pinch of salt in the crust further offsets the sweetness and brings out the flavors of the filling. Once the dough is prepped, you'll press it into a mini muffin tin and pop it in the freezer to set up while you prepare the filling.
Along with pecans (obviously), the pie filling includes bourbon and vanilla, which complement the toasty pecans, while orange zest brings a welcome brightness and what one taster called "citrusy intrigue" to the mix. For sweeteners, a combination of molasses-y brown sugar and maple syrup (not Southern, but delicious!) give the filling a more complex flavor than one of those alone would provide. The two sweeteners also give the mixture just the right level of gooeyness—and that level is pretty darn gooey. 
Once you've made the filling, you'll add the chopped toasted pecan to each shell, then pour in the filling, and nestle one of those pecan halves on top of each tart. Then into the oven they go until the crust is slightly browned and tender and the filling is bubbling. Unless you enjoy biting into molten lava, let them cool for a couple of minutes before you start popping them in your mouth. They also keep for up to five days, if y'all are those people who plan ahead.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F (175ºC). On a 13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet, spread pecan halves in a single layer. Select 24 perfect, unbroken pecan halves; transfer to a small bowl and set aside for topping. Bake remaining pecan halves in preheated oven until fragrant and toasted, 7 to 8 minutes. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
Measure out 1/4 cup (about 32g) toasted pecans. Transfer to a food processor. Process until finely ground, 10 to 20 seconds. Set ground pecans aside for dough. Chop remaining pecans; set aside for filling.
Prepare the Dough: In a large bowl, beat together softened butter and cream cheese with a flexible spatula until smooth and creamy. Add flour, salt, and reserved ground pecans. Stir together until a cohesive dough forms. Divide dough into 24 one-inch balls, about 14g or 1/2 ounce each.
Press 1 dough ball into each cup of a nonstick 24-cup mini muffin pan. Gently and evenly press dough into the bottom and up the sides of each cup. Transfer pan to freezer; chill until firmed, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, bourbon, vanilla, egg, zest, and salt together until smooth.
Remove muffin pan from freezer. Spoon about 1 teaspoon reserved chopped pecans into each cup. Pour 2 teaspoons filling into each cup. Top each cup with 1 reserved untoasted pecan half.
Bake until crust is lightly golden and filling is bubbling, 25 to 28 minutes. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Invert tassies onto a wire rack, then turn them right-side-up, and let cool completely on wire rack, about 30 minutes.
Variations
- You can add 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (1/2 teaspoon per tassie) along with the chopped pecans for chocolate-pecan tassies.
- You can swap pecans for another nut or a mixture of nuts.
Special Equipment
Rimmed baking sheet, food processor, flexible spatula, nonstick 24-cup mini muffin pan, medium bowl, wire rack
Make Ahead and Storage
Dough can be prepared up to 1 day in advance and stored tightly wrapped in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before pressing into muffin pan (cold dough will result in cracked edges).
Pies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
