Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies

Thanksgiving dinner is incomplete without a pie. To give a mini twist to the traditional pumpkin pie, I decided to make these mini pecan pumpkin pies for our Thanksgiving dinner this year. I did make these pies last year as well and they were a huge hit, so I decided to continue the tradition. 🙂

You can also make them as little sweet treats for the holidays. These bite sized portions are big enough to satisfy your sweet tooth without the guilt of eating that big pie slice, specially during the holidays. But careful, you won’t realize how quickly these delecious pies vanish into your mouth! 😉

Steps for making the Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies

1. Make the pie dough

Place the pecans, sugar, salt and flour in the food processor bowl with the chopping/mixing blade attachment. Pulse the ingredients until the pecans are ground and combined with the other ingredients.



Add in the butter and pulse until dough resembles coarse meal.



Slowly pour in the ice water through the feed tube until the dough comes together.

2. Bake the pie crust

Transfer the dough from processor bowl to a clean work surface sprinkled with flour. Form the dough into a ball and divide it equally into 24 pieces.



Roll each piece into a ball and evenly press into each cup until the bottom is covered. If the dough is sticky, dip your finger in flour first.



Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the crusts are very golden. Check periodically to make sure they don’t get too brown. If you are using the mini cupcake pans (24 cup muffin tin), they will be done in 10-13 minutes.



3. Make the pie filling

While the pie crusts are baking in the oven, we can make the pie filling. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg , egg yolk, corn syrup, sugar, pumpkin filling and vanilla. Stir in the chopped pecans.



4. Bake the pie

Remove the dough from oven and spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into each cup. Since I used the 24-cup small cupcake pan, I had lot of leftover pie filling which I used for next day. It will be ideal to use 2 12-cup muffin tins. I could not find my 2nd 12-cup muffin tin and I did not have the time to make it in 2 batches, so I decided to use the 24-cup muffin tins. Regardless the pan size, the pies come out great.



Top each with 1 pretty pecan half. Return the pans to the oven and continue baking, for 12 to 15 minutes more, until the pumpkin filling is set. Let it cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pans. I was impatient and ended up with some crumbly pie pieces.



These looked so tempting that some of them did not even make it to the serving plate 🙂

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Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies

These mini pecan pumpkin pies are surely a crowd pleaser with the best of both pies. They are perfect for the thanksgiving dinner or as little sweet treats for holidays.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 24
Serving Size: 1
Ingredients
• Nonstick cooking spray / Butter
For the dough:
• 1/4 cup pecans
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for shaping dough
• 6 tablespoons butter, ice-cold
• 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water
For the filling:
• 1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin pie filling
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped plus 24 halves for garnish
• Special equipment: 2 (12-cup) mini muffin tins
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray the bottoms and sides of the mini muffin tins with cooking spray or butter them using a brush.
For the dough
2. In a food processor, pulse the pecans, sugar, salt and flour until the nuts are ground and the ingredients are combined. Add in the butter and pulse until dough resembles coarse meal. Slowly pour in the ice water through the feed tube until the dough comes together. Remove from processor bowl to a clean work surface sprinkled with flour.
3. Form the dough into a ball and divide evenly into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and evenly press into each cup until the bottom is covered. If the dough is sticky, dip your finger in flour first.
4. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the crusts are very golden. Check periodically to make sure they don't get too brown.
For the filling
5. While the crust is baking - in a medium bowl, whisk the egg , egg yolk, corn syrup, sugar, pumpkin filling and vanilla. Stir in the chopped pecans.
6. Remove the dough from oven and spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into each cup. Top each with 1 pretty pecan half. Return the pans to the oven and continue baking, for 12 to 15 minutes more, until the pumpkin filling is set. Allow to cool before removing from the pans.
Notes
* Spray the measuring cup with cooking oil before measuring corn syrup to allow for smooth removal from the cup.
* If using the 24-cup mini cupcake tin, then reduce the baking time of crusts by 5 min.
* If using the 24-cup mini cupcake tin, then there will be leftover pie filling. Use them for the next batch or just bake the filling in a ramekin at 350 °F to get a pudding 🙂
* This recipe is from Sunny Anderson
3.1
https://www.fanciersworld.com/mini-pecan-pumpkin-pies/

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