Saying my mother is not a baker is a huge understatement. When I was growing up she would only bake a few kinds of cookies just around the holidays.
One of these said cookies was a walnut tassie recipe a coworker had given her.
Walnut tassies are like mini pies. The crust is made with butter and cream cheese and the filling is similar to that of pecan pie, but with walnuts.
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In elementary school, my older sister brought the walnut tassies into school for a bake sale. The recipe was written on an index card and of course we didn’t have any additional copies. My sister believes the school secretary borrowed the card to make a copy of the walnut tassie recipe and forgot to give it back to her.
Needless to say, every time the holidays come around my mother somehow manages to bring up the fact that she no longer has her favorite walnut tassie recipe, which is understandably a sore spot for my sister.
WELL NOT THIS YEAR B*TCHES!
That’s right because I finally tracked down THE walnut tassie recipe.
Like my quest for the best chocolate cake and banana pudding recipe, I searched E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E.
Without further ado onto the recipe.
Start by creaming together 1 cup room temperature butter and 6 ounces of cream cheese. Once creamed together mix in 2 cups all-purpose flour just until combined. Because this is a soft dough you should put it in the refrigerator for at least half an hour so it’s not too soft and easier to shape.
Growing up we didn’t own a kitchen aid mixer like one I have now so we mixed everything by hand (like savages! j/k).
I actually made the walnut tassies by hand because it reminded me of my childhood. That and it’s not THAT much work. For whipping egg whites I definitely love using my mixer 😉
This recipe makes 48 walnut tassies. I made a few less just because I was lazy. If you’re OCD like I can be at times, use a digital kitchen scale to weigh out your dough. The other way is to divide the dough into 4 larger pieces and then cut each of those pieces into 12 smaller pieces.
Now comes the part that can be a little tricky.
Roll each of the small pieces of dough into balls and place them into an ungreased mini muffin tin.
Using your thumb and pointer finger press the dough down into the muffin tin and then up the sides. Don’t worry if it seems thin, the crust puffs up and expands. Just do you best to avoid making holes. You don’t want the filling to leak out!
If you have nails you might want to wear gloves or recruit a short nailed friend.
This tart pastry tamper would make shaping the crusts a lot easier, but use what you have on hand.
For the walnut tassie filling whisk together 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Once combined mix in 1 cup of chopped walnuts.
Bake the walnut tassies in a preheated oven (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
WALNUT TASSIE RECIPE
Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Yields 48 tassies
DOUGH
1 cup butter, room temperature
6 ounces cream cheese
2 cups all-purpose flour
FILLING
1½ cups light brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) For the dough, mix together the butter, cream cheese, and flour just until combined. Put the dough into the refrigerator to chill 30 to 60 minutes.
3) Divide the dough into 48 balls. Press each ball down and up the sides of a mini muffin pan.
4) To make the filling, mix together the brown sugar, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir in the chopped walnuts. Divide the filling evenly into the 48 mini muffin cups.
3) Bake the walnut tassies for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
These walnut tassies are the perfect cookie to bring to parties and they always remind me of the holidays. Easy to make once you get the hang of it and sure to impress!
