Bite sized mini pumpkin pecan pies
Hooray! The Holidays are here! We’re jump-starting the season early, hosting a casual “Friendsgiving” to celebrate with our neighbors. Celebrating with friends is one of the best parts of the season for me and in today’s social-media based society, friendships are spread so much further than our own neighborhood. The friends I connect with on this site as well as via Facebook and Instagram are part of my community too and I wanted to do something nice to kick off the holiday season here as well. To spread good cheer near and far, I hosted a holiday baking giveaway with Dreamfarm, an innovative brand of kitchen tools.
One winner received a set of set of Dreamfarm Levups self-leveling measuring cups and Levoons self-leveling measuring spoons. These little babies are the ideal way to measure flour, sugar, spices and other dry goods precisely — and every baker knows that precision measurement is one of the most important steps to ensuring perfect baking results.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, I’m already dreaming about the desserts, starting with these decadent little mini pies. I love the richness of pecan pie and the custardy texture of pumpkin pie, but I never have enough room for two slices, so for these little pies, I combined the two into one bite-size delight.
Instead of making one full-size pie, I made twelve minis using a muffin tin. The combination of pumpkin and pecan pies is so rich, three bites is really all you need. These little treats are the perfect way end to your Thanksgiving celebration. All the season’s best flavors in a couple of bites. Talk about having your pie and eating it too.
I can’t wait to share these with our neighbors next weekend. Good thing this recipe is easy to double. There will be more than twenty of us sharing the meal. Its been years since I’ve had the chance to host a formal holiday (albeit an early, “practice” holiday) for this many people. I’m a little nervous but also incredibly excited. Bring on the holidays! And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
Do you celebrate “Friendsgiving?” What other fun holiday traditions are you looking forward to?
Pumpkin Pecan Mini Pies
Makes 12 pies in a cupcake tin
Pie Crust Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and diced into small pieces
1/4 cup ice cold water
Pumpkin Filling
1 cup cooked pumpkin purée
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg, beaten until frothy
1 tablespoon half and half
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground allspice
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pecan Filling
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2 small eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground cinnamon
3/4 cup pecan pieces
- Pie Crust: Combine flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles course cornmeal. With the motor running, slowly add cold water until the mixture just starts to form a ball.
- Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic, wrap tightly and form into a disk. Chill dough in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Generously grease a 12 well muffin tin with butter (including the top of the tin). Once dough has chilled, remove from plastic and roll dough into a large rectangle on a floured surface. Use a 5″ round cutter to cut circles from the dough, re-rolling scraps as needed. Gently place circles in the muffin tin, ensuring dough reaches the top of each muffin cup. Place muffin tin in the refrigerator to chill while working on the fillings.
- Pumpkin Filling: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine all pumpkin filling ingredients in a bowl and beat until evenly combined. Spoon mixture evenly into each muffin well. Bake mini pies for 10 minutes, until pumpkin filling is just barely starting to set. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Pecan Filling: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. When pumpkin pies are slightly cooled, gently spoon pecan filling onto each pie until fillings nearly reach the top of the tin.
- Place muffin tin on a rimmed cookie sheet (to catch any overflow) and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes, until pecan filling is set and crusts are golden. Allow mini pies to cool in tin for 5 minutes.
- Remove pies from tin while they are still warm. To remove, run a knife around the edge of each pie and use an offset spatula to gently transfer the pies to a baking rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: I received one set of DreamFarm Levoons and Levups measuring tools for review and photography as part of the giveaway partnership. I was not paid for my participation and all opinions are my own.
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