What is mincemeat pie, anyway?

It's candied, spiced, liquored-up, chopped meat. In a pie. Just what it sounds like! (Who knew?) I learned all of that and more by reading this very thorough article by Cliff Doerksen in the Chicago Reader. The article has it all: culinary history, kitchen experimentation, and a mention of Krispy Kreme.

My tassies runneth over

(subtitle: our very first attempt at blogging a recipe and/or posting our own food photography! Apologies in advance for the amateurishness to follow; you gotta start somewhere ...)

What is a tassie, anyway? Does anyone know the source of the term? I’ve never heard it used, unless it had the word “pecan” in front of it. In my world, pecan tassie = mini pecan pie.

Google reveals that "tassie" is a nickname for Tasmania, but it’s also “a cup or a small goblet” or the contents of such. Now we’re talking! Tassies = cups of goodness. Google also turned up this recipe from Paula Deen, but I wanted pecans. So I used a recipe from Southern Living (November 2007, via myrecipes.com). They were supposed to be for a cookie exchange, and I was gonna be all organized and make them in advance ... which I did, but then I ate them.

Oh well, here goes! First, recipes typically call for a "mini muffin pan." Notice the vagaries here. Exhibit a: regular muffin/cupcake liner vs. mini:


Clearly smaller, yes. Cute and holiday-themed, too. But does it fit the pan I have? Sort of:


But, sort of not. So I nixed the cute holiday liners, sadly. And rolled my pastry dough into balls, trying to make them all the same size. Then I chilled them for an hour-ish.

The next step called for the balls to go into the pan.

Here comes a fun part. You have to shape the dough balls into mini cups, using whatever you have on hand: your fingers, a citrus reamer perhaps. I used the end of a small rolling pin.


Notice the flour on the rolling pin. That's key here. The dough is chilled, but since it's a cream cheese-based dough, it's somewhat sticky to begin with. And as with any dough, the warmer it is, the stickier. Also notice that the dough is thinner in some places than in others. That is due to operator impatience.

Then I made the pecan filling, and did my best not to make a mess while filling the cups.


I was only partially successful in that regard. After I took this pic, I tried to wipe off the filling so it didn't burn. Then, into the oven for 20 minutes, and here they are! (Blurry, but yummy.)


Pecan Tassies
Southern Living magazine, November 2007 (via myrecipes.com)

Yield: Makes 4 dozen

1 cup butter, softened
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Beat 1 cup butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add flour to butter mixture, beating at low speed. Shape mixture into 48 balls, and place on a baking sheet; cover and chill 1 hour.
2. Place 1 dough ball into each lightly greased muffin cup in mini muffin pans, shaping each into a shell.
3. Whisk together brown sugar and next 5 ingredients. Spoon into tart shells.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until filling is set. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool on wire racks 20 minutes or until completely cool.

And speaking of great pie stories

Pie can change the world. Oh yes it can. Via the NYT again, by the great John T.: Go read it here.