Preheat the oven to 350°F. I do not spray my muffin tins as long as they are nonstick.
Place flour in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl. Cut butter and cream cheese into cubes and add it to the flour. Either mix the flour mixture on low in the a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or cut it in by hand using a pastry blender or two knives. 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.
You can also make the tassie crust in a food processor like I did in the YouTube video. Simply add all the ingredients and pulse until a smooth dough forms. It will take less than a minute. If you have a food processor, I highly suggest this method!
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 but I’m sure my great-grandmother tore little pieces off by sight. Roll each piece into a ball.
Press each piece into one cup of a miniature muffin tin to create a little crust. Be careful that none of the sides or the bottom get too thin. This will cause the filling to escape and glue itself to the sides of the tin.
Prepare the Filling:
Whisk egg, vanilla, sugar, pinch of salt and melted butter together until no lumps remain. The more you whisk, the more air you will incorporate.This will create that crust on the top. If you don’t want it, then whisk less.
Assemble & Bake the tassies:
Sprinkle a few pecan pieces in the bottom of each shell (about a teaspoon according to RoRo's original recipe). Pour the filling into each cup until the filling is just below the top rim of the shell. I found using a liquid measuring cup the easiest way to do this.
Sprinkle pecan pieces over the top of each tassie.
Bake in preheated oven for 24-25 minutes or until the tops have puffed and begun to crack and the crust has browned around the edges. Underbaking will also make them difficult to remove from the tin.
Let cool in the pan completely before removing. Twist and lift to remove! If they do not come out easily, try running the edge of a paring knife around the edge before twisting. If all else fails, just pry them out with an offset spatula. Even the ugly ones taste delicious. That’s a pastry chef promise.
Video
Notes
Flavor Tips - My preference is to use half as many pecans. I used the whole 2/3 cup in one test batch and I didn’t like them as much. Use to your taste! Technique - I do not chill this dough because chilling it causes it to puff excessively. Storage - You can store my Great-Grandmother's pecan tassies in an airtight container layered between parchment or wax paper. These cookies will keep 1 week at room temperature, 2 weeks in the refrigerator or frozen for 3 months.Note: Recipe updated in 2023 to substitute unsalted butter and kosher salt for the salted butter. If you have salted butter, feel free to omit the salt in the recipe and use 1 tablespoon salted butter in the filling instead.