Originally posted January 18, 2007.

Another mainstay in our holiday lineup. I use the handle of a small baby spoon to get the cookie bottoms pressed into the mini muffin tins, and taught Aisa this technique. As you can see, she has done very well! This is a very popular cookie; I know several friends who make it at Christmastime, including fellow foodie blogger Stel of Baby Rambutan.

The recipe can be found at Epicurious. We always double the recipe, as one is never enough. This is almost always the first thing that disappears when we serve it on a dessert tray at parties. People love it!

Original recipe here.

My adaptation: Makes about 60 cookies

Crust:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:
4 large egg
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped walnuts

Make the crust: Cream the butter and cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer. Add salt and flour and beat until it forms a dough. Transfer to gallon-sized zippered plastic bag and press flat. Chill 30 minutes.

Make the filling: Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Keep covered; it thickens and dries up as it sits.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Press 1 1/4-inch balls of the dough into each hollow of a 24-mini-muffin tin. I use the rounded end of a lemon reamer handle for this. You can either leave the edges crumbly, or do like I do and press them smooth with my fingers. Pour filling into crust, leaving room for walnuts. Sprinkle walnuts into filling. Bake ~15 minutes or until crusts are golden and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the tin. Cool in the pan on a rack, 10 minutes. Poke out with the flexible tip of a knife — plastic knives work here — or a small spatula. Let cool completely on racks. Store in airtight containers for a few days at room temperature, a couple of weeks in the fridge, or up to two months in the freezer.