Maple Walnut Tassies – Sally’s Baking Habit

A twist on the standard pecan model, these maple walnut tassies are little bites of texture paradise. Gentle cream cheese cookie dough cradles a candy maple-brown sugar walnut filling, and a snowy dusting of confectioners’ sugar is all of the ornament they must be prepared for his or her vacation cookie tray debut. You gained’t have the ability to cease at only one, so it’s factor the recipe makes 4 dozen!

“However Sally,” it’s possible you’ll be considering, “I assumed this was Sally’s COOKIE Palooza, and these appear like mini pecan pies! Have you ever lastly run out of cookie recipe concepts?” Good query, pricey reader! So let’s start with:

What Are Tassies?

The phrase “tassie,” I be taught, comes from the Scottish slang for a small cup, which in flip originated from the French phrase for cup, tasse. Baked in a mini muffin pan, these cute cookie cups are constituted of a comfortable cream cheese cookie dough, and may maintain actually any filling you’d like, although pecan tassies appear to be the most typical. I even have a recipe for these in my ebook Sally’s Cookie Habit, which is the place I began from when growing this new recipe.

(And, for the document, I’ll by no means run out of cookie recipe concepts.)

Right here’s Why You’ll Love Them:

• Gentle, crispy, creamy, nutty, and candy multi function
• Not like making mini pies, there’s no rolling out pie dough, reducing circles, and re-rolling
• Recipe makes lots!
• They freeze nicely so you can also make them forward
• A lot texture and taste in a single cute little cup

Begin With the 5-Ingredient Dough

The dough is constituted of simply 5 components, and comes collectively simply in a meals processor. If you happen to don’t have a meals processor, you could possibly definitely use a mixer.

1. Flour: All-purpose flour is the bottom of this dough.
2. Sugar: There’s only one/4 cup of sugar within the dough, as a lot of the sweetness in these cookies comes from the maple brown sugar filling.
3. Salt: Taste enhancer.
4. Cream Cheese: Cream cheese makes the dough further comfortable and creamy, which I like in so many cookie recipes, like apricot cream cheese thumbprints and cream cheese sugar cookies. Let the cream cheese soften to room temperature earlier than you make the dough.
5. Butter: Ensure you’re utilizing room-temperature butter so it combines simply and fully with the cream cheese. My cookbook model makes use of chilly butter, and that’s effective too, however I discovered this model produces a softer dough cup.

The dough is just like the dough I take advantage of for rugelach cookies, although that dough is flakier and crisp similar to pie crust. Right here the dough is comfortable and tender, virtually like a lightly-sweetened cookie.

Place the components within the bowl of your meals processor and switch it on. Watch as every thing combines right into a comfortable and thick dough on the push of a button:

Divide the dough in half, and flatten every half right into a disc. Wrap every disc in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for no less than 2 hours. (This is similar manner I like to recommend getting ready cut-out cookie dough in easy methods to freeze cookie dough.)

Form Tassies

Take away one chilled disc of dough from the fridge—one disc is sufficient for one 24-cup mini muffin pan.

Pinch off a bit of dough, a few scant Tablespoon, or 18g, in dimension. Roll right into a ball and place in a greased mini muffin pan. Press your thumb down into the dough ball to create a deep indent, and form the dough up the perimeters of the muffin cup, to create the shell.

When you’ve formed the dough cups, place the pan within the fridge to maintain the dough chilly whilst you make the filling.

TIP: You probably have two mini muffin pans, you’ll be able to go forward and form the second disc of dough into tassie shells, however in case you solely have one pan, go away the second dough disc within the fridge till after you’ve baked the primary batch and your pan is offered.

Make the Maple Walnut Filling

The filling is as simple because the dough, and also you want only a mixing bowl and a whisk to make it:

• Eggs: Eggs bind the components collectively and set the filling.
• Brown Sugar: Molasses-spiked brown sugar is the principle sweetener in these maple walnut tassies.
• Maple Syrup: You need that true maple taste, so use pure maple syrup right here, not “pancake syrup.”
• Melted Butter: Provides only a contact of richness, and taste.
• Vanilla, Salt, & Cinnamon: Taste-enhancing trio.
• Walnuts: Chop them fairly finely, so you’ll be able to match extra nuts in every tiny tasse!

One addition I examined and actually favored after I took the above picture, was a contact of maple extract. You probably have it, go forward and add some. You’ll love that further maple taste. You will discover it within the baking aisle of most grocery shops, or on-line.

Whisk all of the filling components collectively. Straightforward peasy!

Take away the pan(s) of formed tassie shells from the fridge. Use a teaspoon to spoon the filling into every cookie cup. The quantity you’ll be able to slot in every cup actually is determined by how deep you indent the dough, so you’ll have some filling leftover:

The maple walnut tassies bake in about 18–22 minutes. Once you’re able to serve them, costume them up with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. This little snow flurry is elective, however makes for a candy and delightful completion.

The crisp sugared edges, the comfortable and creamy dough, the crunchy nutty filling… they give the impression of being so harmless, however they’ll in all probability be one of the crucial distractingly scrumptious cookies on the vacation cookie tray!

Print

Maple Walnut Tassies

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  Creator: Sally
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  Prep Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes (consists of dough chilling)
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  Prepare dinner Time: 20 minutes
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  Whole Time: 3 hours, quarter-hour
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  Yield: 44–48
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  Class: Cookies
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  Methodology: Baking
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  Delicacies: American

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Description

These two-bite maple walnut tassies are made up of tender cream cheese cookie dough and a gooey-sweet filling. A dusting of confectioners’ sugar on high makes for a candy completion. You can also make the dough for the crust forward of time, and assemble the tassies prematurely as nicely. See Make Forward Directions.

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Directions

1. Make the dough: Place the flour, granulated sugar, and salt within the bowl of your meals processor. Pulse a pair occasions to mix. Add the butter and cream cheese. Pulse till the dough comes collectively. **If you happen to don’t have a meals processor, you should use a mixer for this step. Combine the dry components collectively, after which beat within the butter and cream cheese on medium velocity till the dough comes collectively.
2. Divide the dough in half (every half weighs about 430g every, or rather less than a pound). Use your hand to flatten every half right into a disc, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for no less than 2 hours, and as much as 3 days.
3. After the dough has chilled, calmly grease two 24-count mini muffin pans (I take advantage of nonstick spray). If you happen to solely have 1 mini muffin pan, you’ll be able to bake these in batches.
4. Take away one disc of dough from the fridge (one disc is sufficient for one 24-count pan). Tear off a scant Tablespoon of dough, about 18g. Roll right into a ball, then place in one of many mini muffin cups. Repeat with remaining dough to fill all of the muffin cups within the pan. Use your thumb to press down within the middle of every dough ball to make a big, deep indent. Place the pan within the fridge, and repeat with second disc of dough and second mini muffin pan (or in case you solely have 1 pan, wait to do that till the first batch is completed baking). Preserve the dough within the fridge whilst you make the filling.
5. Make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk collectively the eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, melted butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt collectively till mixed. Fold within the chopped walnuts, and maple extract (if utilizing).
6. Preheat oven to 375°F (191°C). Take away each pans of tassie shells from the fridge. Use a teaspoon to spoon the filling into every of the tassie shells. You will have just a little filling leftover.
7. Bake the maple walnut tassies for 18–22 minutes, or till the shell edges are calmly browned and the filling seems to be set. Let the tassies cool within the pan for 10–20 minutes earlier than transferring them to a wire rack to chill fully. I take advantage of a spoon to assist take away the nice and cozy cookie cups from the pan.
8. As soon as cooled and simply earlier than serving, use a sieve to calmly mud the tassies with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
9. Cookies will keep recent in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 1 week.

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Notes

1. Make Forward & Freezing Directions: You can also make the dough forward of time and retailer within the fridge for as much as 1 day, or freeze for as much as 3 months. If utilizing frozen dough, thaw within the fridge in a single day earlier than utilizing. You too can put together the maple walnut tassies by way of step 6 and maintain them within the fridge for as much as 1 day earlier than baking them. Baked tassies freeze nicely for as much as 3 months. Thaw within the fridge and, if desired, carry to room temperature earlier than garnishing with confectioners’ sugar and serving.
2. Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Meals Processor | Mini Muffin Pan or this one | Glass Mixing Bowls | Cooling Rack | Wonderful Mesh Sieve
3. Can I Change the Walnuts with Pecans? Sure, completely! You’ll be able to swap out the walnuts for a similar quantity of very chopped pecans. Pecan tassies are the unique and most typical number of this cookie.
4. Can I Make These Nut-Free? I don’t advocate it, as nuts are the principle ingredient within the filling. I haven’t tried the filling with oats, although they may very well be a effective substitute. For greatest outcomes, I like to recommend a distinct cookie similar to peppermint snowballs, shortbread, or brown sugar stamped cookies.
5. Maple Extract: A contact of maple extract provides distinctive taste. You probably have it, go forward and add some. You will discover it within the baking aisle of most grocery shops, or on-line.
6. Halve the Recipe: You’ll be able to halve the recipe by halving all the components within the dough and the filling. Yield is 22-24.
7. Can I Make These With out a Mini Muffin Pan? You want a mini muffin pan to carry the form of the tassies. Sadly, you’ll be able to’t make/form them with out it. The filling is simply too skinny/liquid to make use of because the filling for a thumbprint-like cookie on a baking sheet. A daily 12-count muffin pan is just too massive, and these could be fairly large. Nevertheless, you’ll be able to definitely strive it and lengthen the bake time to about 28-Half-hour.

Key phrases: maple walnut tassies