This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
In these Chocolate Pecan Tassies a flakey, cream cheese crust holds the perfect amount of chocolate pecan pie goodness!
12 Days of Christmas Cookies
When in doubt add chocolate!
From my first bite of sugar I have loved chocolate! That epic, life-changing moment when my mom put a three tier chocolate cake in front of me at 1 Years Old evolved into an obsession! Not a casual “I have chocolate sometimes” kind of obsession but a “must impose strict chocolate rules” kind of obsession.
No chocolate before noon. 2:00 if I’m really good!
No chocolate after 8PM <– this never happens
No eating chocolate straight from the bag.
No chocolate on the couch…umm…oops.
{It should be noted, parenthetically, that I strive to follow one of these rules at all times!}
In the midst of a chocolate frenzy several months ago I wondered what would happen if I added chocolate to my great-grandmother’s pecan tassies. Magic!
Chocolate pecan magic is what happens!
All the pecan pie flavors you love with a little hint of chocolate!
The cream cheese crust is divine with the hint of chocolate and brown sugar pecan pie filling! You will love these sweet treats all year round! The date on the calendar never stopped my great-grandmother from sending me home with several dozen.
No ma’am. Tassies are a year round thing. Only now I’ll have to choose between the original and CHOCOLATE. Much like during the Holidays I have to decide if I’d rather have a slice of bourbon pecan pie or the best pecan pie!
Save any leftover pecans you have and make a batch of my Snowball Cookies Recipe. You could even serve them together on a cookie tray, it’d be visually diverse with a sprinkling of pecan throughout! Perfection.
Chocolate Pecan Tassies
Ingredients
For the Shells:
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup flour
For the Filing:
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon salted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup chopped pecans plus 2 tablespoons (approximately) for sprinkling
- 2 tablespoons mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Make the Shells:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Sift flour into a medium sized bowl. Cut butter into small cubes and add to flour. Add the cream cheese and cut the butter and cheese into the flour with two knives or a pastry blender. Continue until the dough holds together. Since we aren’t adding any additional liquid, you’ll want to continue to blend way past the stage at which you would normally stop with a pie crust.
- Gather the crust into a ball and divide into 24 little pieces. I used a kitchen scale and a board scraper to speed up the task. I’ve also done it by eyeballing it. If any piece is too small you can steal from a larger neighbor. The filling will leak out if the dough is too thin in the tins.
- Press each piece into one cup of a miniature muffin tin to create a little crust.
To make the Filling:
- Mix egg, vanilla, sugar and butter together until no lumps remain; stir in pecans.
To assemble the Pecan Tassies:
- Sprinkle a ¼ teaspoon (not rounded) of mini chips in the bottom of each shell. Pour the filling into each cup until the filling is just below the top rim of the shell.
- Sprinkle a few pecans on the top of each tassie.
- Bake in preheated oven for 24-25 minutes.
- Let cool in the pan completely before removing. Twist and lift to remove!
I could eat chocolate all day long every day. And these? I could eat ALL OF THEM.
I may have done!
I should have the phrase “when in doubt add chocolate” put on a t-shirt. Good advise!
Haha! I would snatch up one of those T-shirts too!!! Great idea!
You are indeed a chocoholic, Lindsey! Good thing I have a stockpile of chocolate that would last at least a year. Ok, maybe a month…I eat a lot of chocolate. I also agree with you about chocolate in the morning. I am NOT a chocolate in the morning kind of dude.
But on to these cookies…my wife’s uncle always makes tassie cups for Christmas, but I don’t believe they have chocolate in them. I’m totally going to sneak some chocolate in there this year…no one will be the wiser. (Except for you, me, and the rest of the internet…)
That is the only rule I actually keep because I don’t like sweets in the morning either! Oh, wait, do maple syrup and brown sugar count? Shoot.
It will be our little secret 😉
These look amazing, Lindsey! Love that you added chocolate – , it’s always the right decision to me :))
I’m sure that Jimmy Carter would approve (pecan tassies are said to have been one of his faves!)
Really?! Fun fact! Thanks CakeSpy!
this was 100% the right decision. CHOCOLATE makes eveeeeerything better! And these pecan tassies are no exception!
They look amazing… like all your recipes:) I love pecans and chocolate together:)
Thanks, Illona!
When in doubt, add chocolate…love it, Lindsey! I totally agree with you! And no chocolate on the couch is a tough one…I fail that all time, I love that you added cream cheese to the crust, what a great idea! And the flavors blend so perfectly together. Love the chocolate addition in here! Pinned!
Mmmm many a stray chocolate chip can be found between the cushions…my husband is *not* impressed!