Pecan Tassies

These are what I've been looking for.  The Pecan Bars I posted a few weeks ago got a lot of attention, but they weren't right.  They were expensive to make, and had too much sugar and fat.  Remember, nine sticks of butter total??  Sure, they were tasty -- hard not to be with butter, sugar, pecans, and chocolate -- but food should leave you craving a little more, not feeling weighed down and in need of a cleansing fast.  These tassies are little bites of pecan pie.  What appeals to you more?  The plentitude of big bars dipped in chocolate, or petite one-bite tassies?  In terms of taste, the tassies win hands-down and more closely resemble pecan pie.

Mini-muffin tin on the left, and fluted tartlet pan on the right.

The crust is great, flaky and just slightly tangy due to the cream cheese.  Like all mini-tarts, they take a little bit of time to put together rather than one large tart or pie.  I used a mini-muffin pan, and also a fluted square tartlet pan (the push-up bottoms make for easy removal).  The square wells are a little bigger than the recipe calls for, so I cut the dough into nine squares instead of a dozen for that pan.  The baking times stay the same.  The filling is whipped up in a flash.  I top each tassie with a whole pecan for garnish, and for more crunch and pecan flavor.  This version, it's a keeper.