12 Days of Christmas Treats: Nut Tassies

Editor’s Note: Welcome to the 2013 edition of The 12 Days of Christmas Treats! Every day from now until Christmas, we’ll bring you a new, scrumptious recipe for a holiday cookie, cake, or other dessert treat. Whether you leave them out for Santa or simply sample them all yourself is up to you, we just encourage you to try them all! Leave your comments below each recipe and upload a photo if you make your own batch at home. Season’s Eatings!

by Amy Johnson, Managing Editor, HockeyPub.com

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Today’s recipe is an old-fashioned tradition that requires a little extra effort but is completely worth it!  Special thanks goes out to my friend Kelley who not only contributed this recipe, but who also did all the work baking and taking photos of these delicious bite-sized treats!  These delightful nut tarts are sure to impress anyone who’s selecting goodies from your dessert table!

Nut Tassies

Prep/Cook Time: 35 minutes
Yield: about 40 cookies

Ingredients:
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup + 2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and one cup of butter until light and fluffy.

2. Slowly mix in the flour until well combined.

3. Taking about two tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into small balls and place in the bottom of ungreased mini muffin tins.

4. Using a tassie tool (a special wooden pastry tool used to shape dough into small cups), press each dough ball into the bottom and up the sides of each tin.

5. In another bowl, mix together the eggs, brown sugar, two tablespoons butter, and salt.

6. Using a food processor (or this very unique hand grinder!), chop the walnuts finely and add to the egg mixture.

7. Spoon the filling into each of the tarts.

8. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-14 minutes and cool completely on a wire rack.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our next holiday recipe – Original Chocolate Chip Cookies! And if you missed any of our previous recipes in this series, take a moment to check them out below:

Day 1 – Apple Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Day 2 – White Chocolate Cranberry Macadamia Cookies
Day 3 – Apricot Rugelach
Day 4 – Hot Cocoa Cake
Day 5 – Eggnog-Panettone Bread Pudding
Day 6 – Cherry-Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Day 7 – Marshmallow Pops
Day 8 – Almond and Lemon Biscotti Dipped in White Chocolate
Day 9 – Almond Orange Shortbread
Day 10 – Santa’s Snickers

Photo credits: Kelley Y.

Tags: baking, christmas, cookies, desserts, featured, holidays, nuts, recipes, treats, walnuts