Pecan Lassies
If you want a cookie that’ll be devoured from your cookie tray, these Pecan Lassies will be the winner. With the tender cream cheese pastry cup and the irresistible filling and pecans and coconut. No cookie baking season should be without these.
There seems to be some debate as to the name…
my mom called them Pecan Lassies,
but some call them Pecan Tassies, tassies mean small cups so that seems to be quite fitting, but to honor my mom and her coveted recipe I will continue to call them Pecan Lassies!
These pecan cookies are my most favorite of all Christmas cookies, my mom made them every year and it was the one cookie I looked forward to. I’ve avoided making them for many years, it was the one thing I’d ask her to make, it made me feel special when she’d give me a nice tin full of them. She’d put more in her freezer to give me when I visited.
Now this may come as a surprise… I don’t like pecan pie! It’s true, I think traditional pecan pie is far too sweet. But I have a delicious Cranberry Pecan Pies here.
And when it comes to pecans this recipe is number one!
The pastry is a cream cheese and butter mixture that is tender and delicious. I’ll show you how to easily mix the dough, and make the little cups, that the pecan filling goes into.
The filling is not syrupy sweet, which is why I love it so much. It’s full of pecans and coconut and OMG I just can’t get enough of them.
I have made these cookies plenty of times,
when my mom hasn’t made them in a while…
if I didn’t get enough and just had to have more…
which has been known to happen!
I can’t help it, I love cookies.
I’ve helped my mom make these for many years. It was about time I shared this wonderful recipe with you.
I really liked that she always made them for me… I didn’t want the special-ness to end… even after all these years.
And even though I make them,
I still look forward to having them at her house and finding them in her freezer! But no lie I really loved that I recently made them and had no trouble eating them to my heart’s content. I’m not even going to tell you how many I had, I’ll just say I only shared 12. Yep, all the rest for me! Don’t laugh.
I’ve seen similar cookies around the internet over the years, but there are different versions so there are differences in the name and ingredients. I have also had them when others have made them, but they never tasted like my mom’s.
I think this version is the best. These taste super special to me, they have coconut in them. Oh, how I love coconut. If you like coconut these will bound to be your new favorite cookies.
These are great any time of year, and look so great on your holiday cookie platter, and this recipe comes together quickly.
The filling is a mixture of brown sugar chopped pecans and sweetened coconut, oh… it’s so yummy.
If you want them boozy add in 2 tablespoons of bourbon and an additional 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans.
The filling should be thick, it’ll have some liquid but not be a complete runny mess when scooped. If you feel it’s too thin add an additional 2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans to absorb some liquid.
I used a 1 teaspoon sized measuring spoon for the pastry, not heaping, slightly less than a full teaspoon works best.
You’ll then press the dough with a pastry tart tamper, I like this one best. Dip it into flour then push it onto the pastry and press it so the sides of the pastry go up the sides of the mini muffin pan leaving an area for the filling. I use both dark and aluminum pans, this recipe makes at least 48 cookies and I’ve had these pans for years. I do prefer the nonstick pans for mini cups like these, no chance of the pastry sticking.
If there is excess flour in the pastry, turn the pans over and tap on the counter to remove any excess flour.
You’ll roll the teaspoon size of pastry into a ball, then place it in each portion of a mini muffin pan. No need to butter/grease or prepare the pan, but you can use mini muffin paper liners if you prefer.
You’ll want to fill the pastry with the filling so it’s just slightly rounded, don’t overfill or the filling will spill over and stick to the pan making it hard to remove the cookies.
Chill the pans with pastry dough pressed into pans for 5 minutes or until you’ve made the filling.
You’ll then add 1 tablespoon of the filling into the pastry.
Then bake them.
When they’re done baking allow them to cool for 20 minutes, set a time. Then remove them from the pans and place the cookies on a cooling rack until completely cooled.
Then dust with powdered sugar before serving.
How should I freeze these cookies?
These freeze well, double wrap in a zipper plastic bag then in a plastic container. Allow them to come to room temperature then remove them from the container and plastic bag so no condensation forms and makes the cookies “wet”. Then dust with powdered sugar.
How do I store these cookies?
Store these cookies for 1-2 days on the counter, in an airtight container once cooled, or refrigerate them for a week, be sure to wrap them well so they don’t absorb other flavors from the fridge.
Items you need:
Note:
If you’re using a dark nonstick pan it’ll bake a minute or two quicker than aluminum pans. Keep that in mind when baking.
Pecan Lassies
Ingredients
pastry
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup butter 4 oz, room temperature
filling
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups pecans chopped
- 1 cup firm packed shredded sweet coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In the bowl of a mixer with a beater blade, begin mixing on medium, then cream butter with cream cheese until smooth then add the flour and mix on medium-low until completely combined.(do not overmix, remove from bowl and roll into a ball to gather any leftover flour)
- Use a teaspoon-sized measuring spoon, scoop and roll into balls, and place each ball into the cup of a mini muffin pan, continue until all dough is rolled.
- Take a wood tart press or similar item, dip it in flour, and press it into the dough to form small pastry cups.
- Refrigerate baking pans while you make the filling.
- In a medium bowl add brown sugar, egg, and vanilla, and mix with a fork or spatula to combine.
- Add in chopped pecans and coconut and mix well.
- Place a tablespoon of the filling into every pastry portion.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes for silver/aluminum pans and 23-25 minutes for dark-coated pans. As soon as you smell them, check on them, you don't want the pastry to brown, you're looking for a very light golden color, and you should smell the nuts, they'll smell like they are lightly toasting.
- Remove pans from oven.
- Cool for 20 minutes.
- Take a fork or firm non-serrated butter style knife or thin offset metal spatula to loosen cookies from the pan and place them onto a cooling rack.
- Cool cookies completely, then dust with powdered sugar before serving.
- Store these cookies for 1-2 days on the counter, in an airtight container once cooled, or refrigerate them for a week, be sure to wrap them well so they don't absorb other flavors from the fridge.