A mini version of a holiday classic.
The Back Story
Continuing my adventures with mini pies, I decided to try something that a.) I have never tried before and b.) is a favorite of a visiting friend. So far, I've made mini peach pie, gluten-free mini cherry pies and mini apple pies. I am using the same crust from those pies and figuring out the filling based on some recipes I've seen. I have not made or tasted pecan pie before believing it would be too sweet, but after many baking shows, videos and my friends description of the one they make, I am rethinking that.
A quick note about the ingredients. I was asked why I list brands in my ingredients. I list the products I use because I really like and because not all products produce the same results in the same way all the time. For example, I could list European Butter instead of Kerrygold and the results would be similar but I could not list just Unsalted Butter. The reason is the fat content is different, higher in the European Butter than in the butter I grew up with here in America. Along time ago, when I first learned this, long before this site, I did a little experiment with a couple of my go-to recipes and found that the what I'd heard was true, it did make a difference. Perhaps, I will do it again and post the results.
Back to the mini pecan pies, below is the recipe cobbled together from others. This made 12 mini pies.
Ingredients - Crust
- 115 g (1 stick) Kerrygold Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 85 g (3 oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 227 g King Arthur Baking All-Purpose Flour
- 1/8 tsp (pinch) Diamond Kosher Salt
Ingredients - Filling
- 57 g Kerrygold Unsalted Butter
- 15 g King Arthur Baking All-Purpose Flour
- 217 g Light Brown Sugar, packed
- 1/4 tsp Diamond Kosher Salt
- 47 g Whole Milk
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tsp Distilled White Vinegar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 36 g Trader Joe's Unsalted Dry Toasted Pecan Pieces
- Additional Pecan Pieces or Pecan Halves for topping
Used nonstick cooking spray to prepare a 12-cup muffin pan - regular not the mini muffin pan. Tried one with cheddar on top - yum!
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450 F / 230 C
- Spray the the 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray - not the baking spray with flour
- Mix together butter, cream cheese, flour, and salt to form a ball. I used a 14-cup food processor and pulsed it a few times until it started to come together in large sections then pulled it out and formed the ball with my hands. It doesn't take a lot, just a minute or two.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal(-ish) parts. I weighed my ball of dough then divided by 12 to determine how big each part should be. You don't have to weigh yours. Cut into fours, then threes and you've got your 12.
- Press the dough sections into your muffin tin bottom and up the sides. Set aside.
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Place all the filling ingredients into a large pot or saucepan. Place the pan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring regularly, until the mixture is smooth and has started to boil, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Divide the pie filling evenly between the crusts.
- Bake until puffy and set, for me that was roughly 38 to 42 mins, not quite as long as a 9-in pie which is 47-50 mins.
- Cool and serve.
The Result
O-M-G! I think I now like Pecan Pie. Who woulda thunk it? I had to freeze them right way so I would not eat all of them at once. Do I like them better than my cherry pie? No, this one is definitely in the top 5.
Will I Make It Again
If I make it again may try a pecan half on the top for aesthetics. I also will try some other nuts, gluten-free crust, keto and maybe even a bit of caramel.
You might also like: Mini Peach Pies, Gluten-Free Mini Cherry Pies, Mini Apple Pies
