Monday, May 02, 2005

Cocoa Tassies with Peppermint Creme Filling

Cocoa Tassies with Peppermint Creme Filling (Adapted from BH&G)

For the tassies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg yolk, beaten
2 tablespoons icy cold water

For the creme filling

4 tablespoons butter, softened
7 ounce jar marshmallow creme
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted and divided
1-2 tablespoons milk, divided

To make the tassies

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in cold butter cubes into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cold water.

Gradually stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. To help the dough along, lightly knead the dough just until it starts to form a ball. Scoop dough onto a piece of saran wrap and cover - refrigerate for about 60 minutes so it will be easier to handle.

Preheat the oven to 375

Evenly divide dough into 36 pieces - roll each into a ball. Press one dough ball into the bottom and up the sides of a miniature muffin cup. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Bake until the shells are firm, about 8-10 minutes. Remove and set on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the shells and let them cool completely.

To make the filling

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, marshmallow creme and peppermint extract until smooth. Mix in 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar. Beat in 1 tablespoon milk. Add in the next 1 cup confectioners' sugar and mix until combined. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the final cup of confectioners' sugar. If this mixture is too thick to easily pipe, mix in 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

Pipe filling into the shells and scatter crushed peppermint candies on each.

Makes 36 filled tassies.

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9 comments:

  1. Great recipe, I too want to find little bites to make, these look fantastic! I once saw a tip on Paula Dean's show when she made tassies and she used a shot glass to push the dough balls down into most of the cup and then all she had to do was make them come up the side a little more, I am going to try this when I get around to making my treats!

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  2. Laurie - I tried using something like a shot glass once, but was not too impressed with the results. That was a while ago though, so I may have to try it again! Thanks!

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  3. I just made the shells for these yesterday (and forze them) and found that having stacking mini-muffin pans helps a lot. I put the dough balls in and stacked the other pan on top and pressed - it worked like a Play-Doh toy and pressed the shells out nicely. I still needed to do some finishing with my fingers, though. Make sure you spray or grease the pans. Also, I found that the bottom of the shell does rise a bit. Next time I make these I'll probably poke a small hole ot two in the bottom to let the steam out. They are delicious, though!

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  4. Jen - Brilliant idea! Mine don't nest together well, but I may have to look for some that do just for this purpose! Glad you liked them!

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  5. I use the rounded end of a wooden lemon reamer to make the indention in my tassies. Just push it in the center and gently roll it around and it does a great job.

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  6. Pampered Chef has a tart shaper (for under $4) that would do the trick for pressing the dough into the bottom and up the sides.

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  7. Can someone explain why a jar of marshmallow creme is used in this recipe (and many others) instead of marshmallows?

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  8. Ron - Because it is more of a "frosting", you couldn't use a hot mixture of melted marshmallow as it wouldn't set up correctly. Marshmallows have more stabalizing agents in them (geltain) that would make it difficult to work with. Marshmallow fluff, or creme, is more fluid, for lack of a better word, and doesn't need to be heated to be that consistency.

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