When I told my friend (and fellow southern cookbook author) James Villas that I was making almond tassies, he had a fit. "There is no such thing," he said. Its true that tassies (miniature tartlets) are traditionally made with pecans. But I happen to have history on my side. Almonds have been imported into the South since colonial times, and they were once as commonplace in holiday baking as pecans are today. Im not sure that will convince James to make these, but trust me—theyre absolutely delicious.
Ingredients
Makes 24
Dough:
Filling:
For dough:
Step 1
Beat butter, cream cheese, sugar, and salt in large bowl until blended. Stir in flour (dough will be soft and sticky). Scrape dough onto sheet of plastic wrap. Using plastic as aid, shape dough into disk. Cover and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
Step 2
Roll dough into twenty-four 1-inch balls; place 1 dough ball in each of 24 mini (2 x3/4-inch) muffin cups. Chill 15 to 20 minutes. Using floured fingertips, press dough over bottom and up sides of each muffin cup, forming shell. Chill until ready to use, up to 1 day.
For filling:
Step 3
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl until blended. Stir in almonds and chocolate morsels. Spoon filling into shells.
Step 4
Bake tassies until crusts are golden brown and filling is set, 23 to 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Using small sharp knife, cut around each cookie to loosen, then turn out onto rack and cool completely. DO AHEAD:Can be made 3 days ahead.Store airtight in refrigerator.
Leave a Review
Reviews (5)
Back to TopI was disappointed. These were just okay. I took the advice of the first reviewer and only chilled the dough after I made the balls and pressed them into the cookie tin. But that is not why the recipe was just so-so. I didn't taste the Amaretto nor did I think the chocolate and almonds blended as well as they could. Perhaps both should have been chopped more finely.
Anonymous
Winnetka, IL
12/23/2009
Yeah, they were tasty, but they were a bear to get out of the muffin tin, and I'm gonna have to soak that thing for two days to have any hope of getting it clean. Won't be making again.
carld
Centreville, VA
12/20/2009
Very tasty, but be careful not to overfill the cups. If the filling hadn't boiled over, they would have come out of the pan much more readily.
Mavynn
California
4/16/2009
Made these for Christmas and they were a huge hit. Yummy & totally addictive. I made 1 batch & liked it so much that I made it again the next day & doubled the recipe. The balance of toasted almond flavor and chocolate was perfect--a nice change from the traditional pecan tassies. If you follow the recipe & chill the dough for 2 hours before rolling/molding it, you will need to let it rest for 5-10 minutes at room temperature or else it will be very difficult to work with. Also, I find a small offest spatula (the smallest size, useful for icing cupcakes and tartlets) to be the best tool for removing tassies from the tins without breaking or damaging them.
Kaiwan64
Jupiter, FL
12/28/2008
我喜欢传统的核桃塔西,很高兴to have a second variety on my Christmas party platter. However, I have a couple of recommendations. First, I think they need even more chocolate! So I would up the mini chips by at least half. Also, I'm not a huge Amaretto fan, so I cut that back by half (1 T instead of 2) and added 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract. Finally, you do NOT need to do all that chilling before, during, and after forming the pastry shells. If thoroughly chilled, the dough is too hard to work with, and I promise that the dough turns out very tender, flaky and GB&D without all the fussiness! Make the dough, form a dozen shells, then chill them as you're shaping the second batch. Then chill that pan as you're mixing up the filling and filling the first pan of dough cups. (I put the tins in the "blast chiller"--my front porch!) This worked great, and the shells held their shape and did not shrink. Delish! I have a picture on my little food blog if anyone wants to see and read about this recipe in more detail. Here's the link (scroll to the bottom of the post): http://lindseysluscious.blogspot.com/ 2008/12/party-hopping-tis-season.html
JoyBugaloo
near Plattsburgh, NY
12/23/2008
