Ooey-Gooey Maple Mini-Cups
Author: Nancy Baggett
These may look similar to pecan tassies, but trust me, they aren’t like tassies at all. Instead, think of these “mini-cups” as a variant of shortbread thumbprint cookies, with very deep wells that are filled with luscious pools of immensely satisfying, slightly gooey maple filling. The cookie cups can be garnished with pecan or walnut halves, or not. I like them both ways, depending on whether I feel like concentrating just on the glorious character of maple or am in the mood for the extra crunch and woodsy taste of the nuts.

The barely sweet maple shortbread shells are completely baked first. Then the caramel is simply poured into the cups. Since adding eggs or a thickening starch would partly mask the pure, unadulterated maple syrup taste, the filling stays slightly saucy and succulent and never sets up firm the way a tassie filling does.

Let me add that these are designed for serious maple lovers: Fans of artificial maple flavor and those who are ho-hum about real maple syrup may want to skip on by!
Ingredients
  • ½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, divided
  • 1 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose white flour
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup, preferably dark amber, plus ¾ cup more for filling
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 24 lightly toasted perfect walnut or pecan halves, optional
  • Coarse crystal salt for garnish, optional
Instructions
  1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Generously spray 2 12-cup mini-muffin pans with nonstick spray.
For the dough:
  1. Cut 5½ tablespoons butter into chunks. Combine the butter and flour in a food processor. Process in on/off pulses until the consistency of crumbs. In a small bowl or cup stir together 3 tablespoons maple syrup and vanilla until well blended. Pour the mixture over the flour mixture. Process in on/off pulses until just evenly incorporated; don’t over-process. If the mixture seems too dry to hold together, add a teaspoon more maple syrup and process just to incorporate it. Carefully remove the processor blade. Shape the dough into a flat disc.
  2. Divide the disc into quarters. Divide each quarter into 6 equal portions, then roll them into balls. With a thumb or knuckle, press each ball into a mini-muffin cup so the dough is pushed up the sides evenly all the way around and forms a deep well. Be sure to work the dough up the sides so that the bottom isn’t overly thick and the well is as large as possible.
  3. Bake (middle rack) for 11 to 14 minutes, or until lightly colored and slightly darker at the edges. Let stand until cooled. Using the point of a knife, loosen and gently lift the shells out to a rimmed, parchment-lined baking sheet.
For the filling:
  1. In a heavy 2-quart saucepan bring ¾ cup maple syrup, 2½ tablespoons butter and the corn syrup to a boil over medium-high heat. When the mixture comes to a rolling, foamy boil, start timing and boil 2 minutes longer, stirring once or twice. Then, stirring frequently and watching carefully to prevent scorching, boil 1½ minutes more; the mixture should turn slightly more amber in color but not darken completely. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. For easy pouring, transfer the filling to a 1-cup measure. Pour the filling into the shortbreads, dividing it evenly among them.
  2. Let the mini-cups stand until cooled. If desired, place a walnut or pecan on top of each. Sprinkle the tops very lightly with sea salt, if desired.
Notes
Packed airtight, these keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and can be frozen, airtight, for up to a month.
Recipe by KitchenLane at https://kitchenlane.com/2011/03/ooey-gooey-maple-mini-cups.html