Hot Buttered Rum and Pecan Tassies
These petite, tart-like cookies are like poppable mini pecan pies. The rustic press-in crust is extra tender thanks to cream cheese, and the toasty pecan filling has brown butter, rum, and aromatic spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. For a final flourish, we add a brown butter-rum glaze. Browning the butter and pre-toasting your pecans might seem like unnecessary extra steps in this recipe, but these small enhancements add incredible toasty depth to these cookies. Tassies travel phenomenally well, so they’re a great option for your holiday cookie gifts. This recipe is inspired by an old favorite from the New York Times.
Ingredients
Crust
- Nonstick baking spray for greasing
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Filling
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons dark or spiced rum
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon finely grated nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground clove
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup toasted pecan halves finely chopped
Glaze
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoons dark or spiced rum
- ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon milk plus more as needed
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan.
Make the Crust
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a medium bowl and using a hand mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour. Mix until just combined and the dough comes together. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
Meanwhile, Make the Filling
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and begins to foam and sizzle and turn a golden brown color, about 3 minutes. The milk solids at the bottom of the pan will be toasty brown and the butter should smell intensely buttery and nutty. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Add the maple syrup, egg, brown sugar, rum, and spices. Whisk until smooth. Stir in the chopped toasted pecans.
- Portion the dough into two dozen 1-inch balls—about 1 scant tablespoon each. (It’s optimal to do this before you begin pressing in the dough to make sure it is evenly distributed—a #60 level scoop also helps with portioning.) Press each ball into the well of a nonstick mini-muffin pan, spreading evenly over the bottom and ¾ of the way up the sides (slightly higher if the cups are on the shallow side).
- Add a heaping teaspoon of the filling to create a small mound in each cup, making sure to distribute the pecans evenly by stirring the filling every few scoops. Bake the tassies until the filling is set and the crust is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the tassies from the tin to cool completely.
Make the Glaze
- When you’re ready to glaze your cookies, in a small saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and begins to foam and sizzle and turn a golden brown color, about 3 minutes. The milk solids at the bottom of the pan will be toasty brown and the butter should smell intensely buttery and nutty. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum—the liquid should bubble up rapidly. Scrape into a small bowl and whisk in the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and cinnamon until smooth. Add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed.
- Drizzle the glaze over the tassies right away (it will thicken as it sits). Let the cookies sit for at least 10 minutes before serving so the glaze can harden. Enjoy!
Notes
MAKE AHEAD The cream cheese dough can be made up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated overnight. The baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
You can use a 24-cup mini-muffin pan for baking and a #60 level scoop to portion the dough into two dozen 1-inch balls.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
