This is from a friend of Grandma Minna's. Yield, 20-24 cookies.

As with all of my Grandma's recipes, she assumed you knew how to make them already and only needed a reminder for the ingredients and special steps. I've preserved the original recipe here (as copied by my Mom) but I've annotated where I needed additional information.

NOTE: Grandma would always make these pie-like cookies with pecans but as there's a tree nut allergy in my house, I use peanuts. I think the pan I use is a mini-tart pan; it's shallower than the mini muffin pan listed below. I also find I need to double the chopped nuts.

3 oz pkg of cream cheese
1/4 lb butter (softened)
1 cup sifted flour

Mix and put in the refridgerator to chill.

NOTE: Use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer to mix the cream cheese and softened butter, then add sifted flour.

1 egg
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 tbsp soft butter
1 tsp vanilla
dash salt
2/3 cup coarse chopped nuts

Beat together the egg, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and salt. Shape pastry into 1" balls. Press into tins (small muffin tins). Sprinkle nuts into cups, put filling on top, then more nuts. Bake at 325 deg, 25-35 minutes.

NOTE: Use a hand mixer for the batter unless making more than one batch. Push the pastry into the cups as thin as possible to get the most cookies and more room for the nuts. I also find there's enough butter in the dough that I don't need to grease the pan.