Pumpkin Pecan Tassies — Sweet Little Pastries for a Season Worth Savoring

Post-baseball, life returns to its normal rhythm. The brewery is shifting into fall/winter mode — darker beers, smaller taproom crowds, the cozy season. We're putting the pumpkin porter on the board next week, and Marcus has me working on the winter lineup. He wants a Christmas stout with cinnamon and orange peel. I want a Polish-inspired winter warmer with honey and spice. We'll probably do both. The leaves in Bay View are peak color — oranges and reds and yellows that make the whole neighborhood look like it's on fire. I walked to the lake on Saturday morning, coffee in hand, and stood at the shore and watched the water. Lake Michigan in October is steel-gray and angry, waves crashing against the breakwall, spray in the air. It's beautiful the way a thunderstorm is beautiful — you respect it more than you enjoy it. Cooking this week was all about fall preservation. Mrs. Wojcik taught me how to make bigos the proper way — not the quick weeknight version I've been making, but the real thing, which takes three days. Day one: soak the dried mushrooms, cook the fresh cabbage and sauerkraut separately. Day two: brown the meats (kielbasa, pork shoulder, bacon), combine everything in a big pot, add wine and spices, simmer for hours. Day three: reheat. Bigos gets better each day. By day three, it's transcendent. The three-day bigos was worth every minute. The flavors meld in a way that the quick version just can't achieve — the sauerkraut and fresh cabbage become one, the meats dissolve into the sauce, the mushrooms add this deep, earthy bass note. Mrs. Wojcik tasted it and said, "This is correct." From Mrs. Wojcik, "correct" is the highest praise. It means you've made the dish the way it should be made, with nothing to add and nothing to take away. I also made pumpkin pierogi this week — roasted pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a touch of nutmeg. Not traditional. Babcia would have raised an eyebrow. But I'm learning that tradition isn't a prison — it's a foundation. You build on it. You honor it by taking it somewhere new. The pumpkin pierogi were sweet and warm and autumnal and I'm going to make them again for Thanksgiving. Dad's birthday is coming up in November. I'm already planning the menu. Last year, for the first time, I cooked the whole birthday dinner. This year, I want to top it.

The pumpkin pierogi got me thinking about how well pumpkin takes to warm spice — brown sugar, cinnamon, a whisper of nutmeg — and how that combination belongs in as many fall recipes as possible. These Pumpkin Pecan Tassies hit the same notes in a different form: a buttery cream cheese shell, a spiced pumpkin filling, and the crunch of pecans on top. They’re exactly the kind of thing I’d set out for Dad’s birthday table in November, something small and warm and a little unexpected — built on tradition, but taken somewhere new.

Pumpkin Pecan Tassies

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 55 min (plus 1 hr chill) | Servings: 24 tassies

Ingredients

• Pastry Shell
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Pumpkin Filling
• 3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Make the pastry. Beat softened butter and cream cheese together with a hand mixer until smooth and well combined. Add flour and salt and mix on low until a soft dough forms. Divide dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin.
3. Form the shells. Roll the chilled dough into 24 equal balls (about 1 inch each). Press each ball into the bottom and up the sides of a mini muffin cup using your thumb, forming a thin, even shell. Return the tin to the refrigerator while you make the filling.
4. Mix the filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves until smooth.
5. Fill the shells. Remove the muffin tin from the refrigerator. Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin filling into each pastry shell, filling to just below the rim. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the tops.
6. Bake. Bake at 325°F for 23–26 minutes, until the filling is just set and the pastry edges are lightly golden. Do not overbake — the filling will firm up further as it cools.
7. Cool and remove. Let the tassies cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around each cup and gently lift them out. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 98 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 10g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 42mg