Pancetta and Parmesan Tassies

I don’t do a lot of savory baking, but I’m trying to expand my horizons. I like this type of savory snack, but I’ve never really made them myself. I saw this recipe and we were having company over so I thought that I would give it a try. They were a big success so I think I will try more recipes like this.

I’ve made a lot of sweet tassies and they always look impressive. They do take a little bit of extra care and patience. Squishing the dough up the sides of the mini muffin cups is fairly tedious and since this makes 24 tassies, it takes some time. Other than that these aren’t too hard. Trader Joe’s carried 4 ounce packages of diced pancetta, so that was ready to go. I even bought chives, which I of course completely forgot to use. Of well, they were good without the chives, too.

The beauty of these tassies is that you can make them in advance, which is what I did. They were just great fresh out of the oven, but they were good at room temperature as well. These are little savory bites of perfection and are a great choice for entertaining.

Pancetta and Parmesan Tassies

½ cup butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice, cooked and drained
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add the flour; beating on low speed until blended. Shape into 24 balls and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 24 mini-muffin pans.

Place the dough balls into the cups, pressing on the bottom and up the sides to form a cup; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, egg, and salt. Evenly sprinkle the cooked pancetta into the pastry cups; top with 1 teaspoon of parmesan. Evenly drizzle half-and-half mixture over cheese and sprinkle with chives.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then carefully remove the tassies from the muffin pan.

Serve warm; if made in advance the tassies can be reheated in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.

Recipe from The Galley Gourmet