MAPLE PECAN TASSIES

When our kids were little, I made these Tassie's ONLY on special occasions, or during the Christmas holiday. I'm not sure why that was "the rule", but it was.

These days, at our house, Tassie's have evolved into a barbecue "staple" for several reasons: not only are they super easy (and mess-less) to serve a crowd (especially the little ones), but you can make them a day (or even two) ahead of time, which is always handy.

I just set a tray of these beauties out on the buffet table, and guests "re-visit" it again and again; I guess their mini-size isn't as intimidating as a big old piece of pecan pie.

Tassie's Aren't Just For Christmas Anymore!!

PASTRY CRUST
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (see note)
6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour

Cream the butter and cream cheese (with electric mixer) until it is light and fluffy. Add the flour and beat until the dough comes cleanly away from the inside walls of your mixing bowl.

Roll pastry into 1 inch balls and place them into an un-greased mini-muffin pan. Using your fingers, press the balls of dough into the bottom of each cup and up the sides. (I use the floured round end of my rolling pin to press the dough into place). Place the pan of shaped shells into the freezer for a few minutes while you make the filling.

FILLING
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 3/4 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans (see note)

Beat the eggs until very well mixed and lemon colored. Stir in everything else (except nuts) and whisk until smooth; set aside.

Put a few chopped pecans in the bottom of each pastry shell and add enough filling to fill the shell about 2/3 full. (see note)

Bake in pre-heated 375F oven for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is set, yet still a little soft in the center. Remove from oven and sit the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before you try to lift them out. Lift Tassie's out of pan and cool on a wire rack.

 

 

NOTE: Keep in mind that the filling puffs as it bakes, so don't overfill the unbaked shells. If you overfill them, they will be hard to get out of the pans. If your Tassie's resist coming out easily, use the tip of a knife to help you "lift them" out of the pan.

UPDATE: The recipe that I've used for 35+ years, used butter in the crust. However, recently, I decided to try butter flavored Crisco and I was thrilled with the crust difference. The butter produces a very white and non-flaky crust, but the butter flavored Crisco produces a super-flaky golden crust that picky-picky husband loved. If you click on the following photo, you can see how nice and flaky this ingredient substitution turned out.

NOTE: If you do not have maple extract, just leave it out.

NOTE: Picky-picky husband is not a big nut eater, so I put minimal nuts in these when I make them. Even with the extra filling, they bake in 20 minutes.

 

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SIX MICROWAVE COOKIES

This fun little recipe is for those "I-need-some-chocolate-right-now-or-I'm-going-to die" moments in your life. Cookies from the microwave? Before today, I would have highly doubted their success, but my scorched tongue is proof that they ARE good AND that I was too impatient for them to cool off!!

This recipe only makes six small cookies, which is PERFECT better for my perpetual diet. Don't expect the same crispy cookie you would get out of the oven, but the taste is very much the same.

1 tablespoon butter (melted)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons chocolate chips

Mix everything and form into 1" balls, then flatten a little and put them on an UNgreased microwave safe plate. They don't spread much when they cook, so just put them an inch or so apart.

Microwave on high for 45-55 seconds (my microwave took 50 seconds). Now is the hard part......let them cool for a couple of minutes....then enjoy!!

NOTE: Do not be tempted to add any baking soda to this recipe.

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YUMMY BARS

This basic recipe has been around for several decades because it is not only delicious, but it is super quick and easy and very versatile. It is basically a graham cracker bottom with a sweetened condensed milk center laced with coconut, nuts and chocolate chips; easy as one-two-three!!

Prefer dark chocolate? No problem, prefer peanut butter chips, no problem, prefer cinnamon or chocolate graham crackers? No problem.  Change this recipe to your hearts desire!!

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
2 cups favorite flavor chocolate chips

Line a 9" x 13" baking dish with parchment paper, leaving the ends long enough to hold on to when you lift the finished bars out of pan. If you don't have parchment paper, you can spray the pan with vegetable spray but parchment works the best.

Melt the butter and toss with graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Press firmly into prepared baking dish.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the bottom layer.
Sprinkle the coconut on top of the milk layer; next add the nuts if you are going to use them (I don't).

Finally, layer the chocolate chips (or your favorite flavor of chips). Use a fork and really press hard on the layers, mashing them all together.

Bake at 350° (in metal pan) or 325° in glass dish for 25 minutes or until lightly golden around edges.

Don't cut the bars until the chocolate is cooled AND set. You can speed set the chocolate by putting the baked bars in the fridge for a while, but bring it to room temperature again before cutting them.

Store covered, at room temperature. These are super fast to make and are great for any time you need a quick "take along".

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BUTTER COOKIES

These big 4" cookies are crispy, light as a feather and full of butter-y goodness. They are too fragile to ship through the mail, but straight out of the cookie jar, they are melt in your mouth perfection.

1 1/4 cups butter (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 egg YOLKS
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 TABLESPOON of vanilla extract

Cream the room temperature butter and granulated sugar with your stand mixer. Once smooth, add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat well in between each addition; beat in the vanilla.

Mix the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar, and add this mixture to the butter mixture, one cup at a time. Mix well.

Cover and chill the dough for about 30  minutes.

Roll the dough into 1" balls and roll them in granulated sugar.  Place on an UNgreased cookie sheet (3" apart)and flatten slightly.

Bake in 350° preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden.  Recipe makes 3½ dozen cookies.

Rolling dough into 1" balls, will give you 4" cookies, so leave lots of room between each cookie ball on the cookie sheet.

 

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CHEWY MOLASSES COOKIES

One of our baby boys turns 36 today, where have the years gone!?!? I made him a batch of these wonderfully soft and warmly spiced molasses cookies to go along with his birthday gift.

3/4 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the room temperature butter, brown sugar, egg and molasses; mix until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary.

Add the flour, baking soda, salt and spices and mix well.  Cover and chill the dough for about an hour.

Roll the dough into balls about the size of a small walnut and roll them in granulated sugar. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet (about 2" apart) and flatten them just a little. 

Bake at 375° for 8 minutes (the tops will have a wonderful crackle look). Be careful not to over bake them.  The cookie batter (inside of the cracks) will still look a little "wet" after 8 minutes in the oven, but they will be perfectly baked and chewy when they cool off.  If you like a crisp cookie instead of a chewy cookie, leave them in the oven for another minute or so.

To keep these cookies soft and chewy, store them in a Ziploc bag or any Tupperware that has a tight fitting lid. These cookies freeze (and ship) very well and they smell heavenly when you open the cookie jar!!!

We have two awesome sons, Kevin (the birthday boy) is 36 today and Kris will be 41 in a couple of months. Seemingly overnight, they have grown into wonderful men that I thank God for every day; they have also blessed us with four PERFECT grandchildren.

 Happy Birthday Kevin, we love you!!

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EASY THIN MINT COOKIES

Do you like Girl Scout thin mint cookies as much as I do? If so, you are in luck with this super easy, super quick, two ingredient recipe.  It is so easy, I can't even say it is a "recipe" because it uses all pre-prepared ingredients and it DOES taste JUST LIKE a thin mint cookie!!  I'm including these in my Christmas cookie trays this year.

I put a little extra white chocolate decoration on these, just for fun,

but it certainly isn't necessary.

You will need some Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers and some Andes (creme de menthe) chocolates.....that's it!!

The chocolate wafers come in a 9 ounce package and I found the Andes mints (those creamy little chocolate mints with the green center) in a 4.67 ounce package.  There are 28 mints in the package and one package will do a dozen cookies (I found the mint packages for $1.60 here in Alaska, so hopefully you can find them even cheaper.

I unwrapped and then melted the chocolates in my microwave for about 30 seconds...stirred and then microwaved them for another 10 seconds (stir until the chocolate is smooth and shiny). Dip the chocolate wafers in the melted chocolate (both sides) and place on some parchment paper (or Silpat). Stick them in the fridge (I used the freezer) for about 5 minutes to "set" the chocolate......that's it!!  

It is truly amazing how much they taste like a thin mint!! 



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CHEWY OATMEAL WHOOPIE PIES

Whoopie pies are two cookies, layered back to back, with a thick layer of frosting in between. Some have a cake texture, some are crunchy and some (like today's post) are chewy.  I like to wrap them individually so the cookies stay on the soft side (plus, since they are pre-wrapped, they are easy to toss into a lunch box, sort of like home made Little Debbie's oatmeal cookies.

This recipe has the wonderful taste of "oatmeal and autumn" spices. It is also a cookie you can easily make even if the pantry is running low on everything because there are no "special" ingredients in these whoopie pies.

2 cups brown sugar (I like dark brown)
3/4 cup butter (room temperature)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons boiling water
2½ cups all purpose flour
2 cups quick cooking oats

Preheat oven to 350 and spray cookie sheets with vegetable spray (I don't spray, I just use parchment paper).

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, eggs, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and boiling water. Beat until mixture is light in color and fluffy.

Beat in the flour and oats. Let mixture sit for about 5 minutes.

Roll into balls about the size of a small walnut.  These cookies don't "spread" a lot, so you can space them about 3" apart. Just try and make them all the same size.

Place the cookie dough balls on a prepared cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  The cookies will look like they need another couple of minutes, but they don't. Remove them from the cookie sheet and place on a cooking rack. If the cookies are puffed up... very lightly tap the top of the cookie with the back of a fork.  Cool cookies completely.

COOKIE FILLING

1 cup butter (room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk

Mix everything (starting with only 3 tablespoons milk) and add the other tablespoon if the frosting is too stiff.

Use the frosting, generously, to "glue" two cookies together.

Wrap cookies individually or keep them in an airtight container so the cookies will remain chewy and not crunchy.

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PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Picky picky husband loves anything peanut butter and I love anything chocolate; so I combined two of our favorite recipes and this cookie "was born".  It is a GREAT lunch box or picnic cookie, as they travel well and stay soft if you keep them in a lidded cookie jar.

1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco  (see note below)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I use Jiff)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Cream the butter flavored Crisco, peanut butter, eggs and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add the sugars and mix well.

Add the flour, salt and baking soda and mix well. Stir in the miniature chocolate chips and pecans.

Roll into balls about the size of a walnut and bake on parchment paper lined baking sheet for 10-12 minutes (at 375 degrees) until they are very light golden around the edges.

They won't look quite "done" in the center, but trust me...they are.

NOTE: Some people freak out about using Crisco in cookies, however, 99.9% of the reports show that there is virtually zero difference between Crisco and butter when it comes to saturated fat, not to mention there is zero cholesterol in Crisco (something you can not say about butter).  Just make sure (for flavor sake) you use butter flavored Crisco.

I have no idea how these cookies turn out if you use all butter... I just know that in classic chocolate chip cookies, you get a super thin misshapen cookie if you use butter... but if you use butter flavored Crisco in that same recipe, you get a nice thick, perfectly round cookie.

NOTE: I like to use miniature chocolate chips in my cookies because they distribute in the batter well, however, regular size chocolate chips would work too.

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Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lets pretend that we are just coming home 

from school and have a big plate of 

warm cookies and cold milk waiting for us.

They are so easy to mix up.

 Start with room temperature butter, 

beat in the sugars, then add the egg.

 Beat until fluffy. Mix in vanilla.

 Add the flour, baking soda and salt thru a sifter.

 Dump in the chocolate chips.

 Mix just until everything is incorporated.

 Use a teaspoon full and space 2" apart.

 I sometimes use parchment paper. 

An un-greased baking sheet is all you'll need.

 Bake @375 until lightly golden around the edges.

 Cheers!

 Scratch and Sniff.....just kidding!

 I chill the remaining dough and when firm enough 

I roll it into walnut-sized balls. 

I then freeze or refrigerate 

to bake more warm cookies the next day.

That's how we roll!

They don't last long!

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C white sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1-1/2 C flour
1/2t baking soda
pinch salt if using unsalted butter
1 C chocolate chips, semi-sweet


Set the butter in a bowl to reach room temperature. Add sugars and beat with an electric mixer until blended. Add the egg and beat until creamy. Beat in the vanilla.
Add the flour, soda , and salt thru a sifter. Add the chocolate chips. Beat again
until everything is well mixed. Drop by using a rounded teaspoon full of batter onto
 an un-greased cookie sheet 2" apart.
Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes, until golden around the edges.
Optional add-ins: 1/2C walnuts or pecans lightly toasted and chopped.

(when you double the recipe use 3/4C brown sugar and 3/4 C white sugar)

tip: roll chilled dough into walnut-sized balls, refrigerate or freeze to bake up fresh warm cookies anytime!

Enjoy!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my giveaway for

Tumbleweed Pottery. Click HERE.

Tumbleweed is also giving my readers a 

discount all during May for 20% off!  

Stock up on gifts!

To get the 20% discount use the 

coupon code: maydays


Links: A Stroll Thru Life

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Homemade Biscotti

Biscotti are a twice-baked Italian dipping cookie. 

They are wonderful with a latte or cappuccino. 

Perfect for dipping into your favorite coffee.

 The recipe is similar to mandelbrot or Mandlel Bread 

which dates back to early European cultures and 

is a popular Jewish treat. Mandel means almonds in

 German, so they traditionally have

 almonds and almond extract.

 Beat sugar and oil in an electric mixer 

until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.

 Add the eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated.

 Gradually add the flour. 

Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.

 Add the toasted almonds. Toasting brings out

 the flavor. I used the toaster oven and bake 

 for 5 minutes at 350 until fragrant and golden. 

You can easily add your own touches.  

 I used 1/2C almonds and 1/2C

mini chocolate chips. 

Spray a large (12X18) sheet pan.

 Pour the batter evenly on the pan.

 Bake in a 350 oven.

 Until golden, about 20 minutes.

 Remove from oven and let cool for 7 minutes.

 Turn out onto a cutting board.

 Slice lengthwise down the middle, 

then cut across into 1/2-to 3/4-inch strips

 You can also cut lengthwise into thirds 

to make smaller pieces.

 At this point I store some in the freezer before

 the second baking. When I want to serve them I 

remove from the freezer and let sit at room 

temperature for about 5 minutes then bake on a 

cookie sheet at 350 until toasted, about 8 minutes.

 Return the cookies to the sheet pan and return to 

the 350 oven and bake for 6 minutes then flip. 

and bake the other side for another 6 minutes. 

 Serve for coffee.

Store extra cookies in a large jar.

Biscotti

Almond or Chocolate Chip

1 C sugar

1 C  vegetable oil 

4 eggs

1-1/2 C flour

2 t vanilla extract

1 t almond extract

1 C toasted almonds

(or 1 C mini chocolate chips or

half of each)

Beat sugar and oil with a mixer until dissolved.

Add eggs one at a time, beating until well mixed.

Gradually add the flour. Stir in the extracts.

Stir in the almonds or mini chips.

Spread onto a sprayed baking sheet (12X18)

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until lightly golden. 

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 7 minutes. 

Turn onto a cutting board and cut in half lengthwise, 

then cut across into 1/2" to 3/4" strips.

 Return cookies to the sheet pan and return to

oven to bake another 6 minutes, flip and bake 

the other side for another 6 minutes, until golden.

Enjoy! 

Links: Designs By Gollum

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