Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 3 hr (includes cooling)

　　

Ingredients

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

　　

For shells

Ingredients for basic butter cookies

　　

For pine nut filling

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

　　2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

　　1 large egg

　　1 teaspoon vanilla

　　1/2 teaspoon salt

　　1 3/4 cups pine nuts (1/2 lb)

　　Garnish: confectioners sugar

　　

Special Equipment

2 nonstick mini-muffin pans, each with 12 (1 3/4-inch) cups

　　

Make shells:

Step 1

Follow recipe for basic butter cookies to make dough, then divide dough in half. Divide 1 half (keep remaining dough chilled, covered) into 24 pieces (about 1 1/2 teaspoons each) and form into 1-inch balls. Press each ball evenly onto bottom and up side of an ungreased mini-muffin cup to form a pastry shell (use a piece of plastic wrap to prevent dough from sticking to your fingers). Chill until ready to fill.

　　

Make filling:

Step 2

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.

　　

Step 3

Whisk together brown sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, and salt until blended, then stir in pine nuts. Fill each pastry shell with about 2 teaspoons filling.

　　

Step 4

Bake tassies until filling is bubbling and pastry is golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Run a sharp thin knife around edge of each pastry, then transfer pan (with cookies) to a rack to cool 10 minutes. Remove tassies from pans and transfer to rack to cool completely. Make more tassies with remaining dough and filling.

　　Cooks' note:

　　Tassies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.