Mini Pecan Pie Tarts
These Mini Pecan Pie Tarts are the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving menu!
Thinking about serving this simple dessert for a different occasion?
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You’ll Love These Mini Pecan Tarts – Here’s Why!
- Satisfies Pecan Pie Fans! – These little pies aren’t short on flavor- a buttery crust, a gooey center, crunchy pecans, and a little whipped cream on top. Served alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream, they’re absolutely perfect.
- Perfect For Family Gatherings! – This twist on a traditional pecan pie recipe is perfect for family gatherings and special occasions, especially with the holiday season coming up. For one thing, they’re less messy. For another, in comparison with a regular pie, you’ll be surprised at how much further these mini pecan tarts will go to feed a crowd.
- Ideal Serving Size! – If the dessert table is laden with classic Thanksgiving desserts, it’s easy to go a tad bit overboard. This mini pecan pie recipe can help with portion control.
- Quick And Easy To Make! – Let’s face it – pies can be a bit fiddly. Not so with these mini tarts, especially if you use store-bought pie crust. Simply cut out the crust, fill each little tartlet, and bake. It has that wow factor, without requiring you to spend hours in the kitchen!
Ingredients Needed For Mini Pecan Pie Tarts
- 1/4 Cup of Light Corn Syrup – What’s the difference between light corn syrup and dark corn syrup? The flavor! Dark corn syrup has an intense caramel flavor, and is sometimes used in recipes as a caramel substitute. You’ll get a lighter version of that flavor from the molasses in the brown sugar, so I use light corn syrup for this recipe. I don’t want to be too heavy-handed with that caramel taste.
- 1/3 Cup of Brown Sugar – Golden brown sugar gives us that hint of warm, molasses flavor that we’re looking for in this pecan pie recipe.
- 2 Tablespoons of Butter – Use salted butter for this recipe. If all you have on hand is unsalted butter, then add a small pinch of salt as a separate ingredient. You’ll need this butter to be melted, but also have time to cool down slightly so that it doesn’t start to cook the egg. While you’re working on the pie crust dough, go ahead and pop it in the microwave so that you’ll have the melted butter ready.
- 1 Egg – Set it out on the counter for a few hours to let it come up to room temperature, and then crack it into a bowl and beat it well.
- 2 Tablespoons of Heavy Cream – The cream adds a rich thickness to the sweet pecan pie filling!
- 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract – All good baked goods have a little splash of vanilla extract.
- 1/3 Cup of Pecans – Can’t make a little pecan pie without some chopped pecans! Since these are mini pies, you can use pecan pieces if you’d like. They’d get lost and overlooked in a regular pecan pie, but work well for these mini pies.
You’ll also need pie crust of some sort.
You can use either store-bought pie crust or make your own crust using your favorite pie crust recipe!
How To Make Delicious Mini Pecan Pies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and prep your muffin tin pan. You can grease the muffin pan or tart molds using nonstick cooking spray or butter. You can also use paper baking cups or silicone molds to line your tin, if you’re prefer!
- In a large mixing bowl, combine corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, beaten egg, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Once the gooey pecan filling is mixed together, add in the pecan pieces and stir.
- Create your mini pie crusts by using a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut small circles of crust. Lay each crust carefully into the tart pan.
- Place a tablespoon of filling into each of the tart shells.
- Place the muffin tin on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. This will help keep clean-up quick and easy, if that syrupy filling happens to bubble over! Then bake the pecan tarts for 25-30 minutes, until the filling has set.
- Place the muffin tray on a wire rack and allow the mini pies to cool for 10 minutes. Then, use a butter knife to carefully remove each pie from the pan, top with a small dollop of whipped cream, and enjoy!
Storing Leftover Pecan Tartlets
Simply place each leftover mini dessert in an airtight container, and place them in the refrigerator.
They’ll be there for you to enjoy for the next 5 days.
If you need to store the mini pecan pies in multiple layers, be sure to put a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper in between them.
Otherwise, that gooey center will cause them to stick together!
Top Tips For Perfect Pecan Pie Tarts!
- After you’ve placed your dough in the muffin tin, place the tin in the fridge for about 15 minutes. This helps the butter in the dough to firm up a bit before adding the pecan filling. It keeps the crust flaky, and clearly established from the filling itself once baked!
- Don’t try to get the mini pies out of their tin before they’ve had time to cool! You’ll have a mess on your hand. As each mini pie cools, the crust crisps up slightly. This causes them to hold their shape better when it comes time to popping out the pies!
- Making your own dough? Make it ahead of time! Not only does it help cut down on prep time the day of your event, but it also makes the ball of dough easier to work with and makes it taste slightly sweeter.
- Swap out maple syrup for corn syrup, if you’d like! It will bring a different flavor to your mini pecan pies, but they taste delicious and could be a nice change!
- Be sure to give the filling mixture a good stir before adding each scoop of filling to the tarts. The pecans will tend to settle, and you want to make sure you space them out evenly across each of the mini pies!
Mini Pecan Pie Tarts
These Mini Pecan Pie Tarts are the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving menu! This simple dessert will be a hit for any special occasion!
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- 3-Inch Cookie Cutter
- Muffin Tin Pan
- Baking Sheet
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup of Light Corn Syrup
- 1/3 Cup of Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons of Butter
- 1 Egg
- 2 Tablespoons of Heavy Cream
- 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
- 1/3 Cup of Pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and prep your muffin tin pan. You can grease the muffin pan or tart molds using nonstick cooking spray or butter. You can also use paper baking cups or silicone molds to line your tin, if you're prefer!
- In a large mixing bowl, combine corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, beaten egg, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Once the gooey pecan filling is mixed together, add in the pecan pieces and stir.
- Create your mini pie crusts by using a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut small circles of crust. Lay each crust carefully into the tart pan.
- Place a tablespoon of filling into each of the tart shells.
- Place the muffin tin on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. This will help keep clean-up quick and easy, if that syrupy filling happens to bubble over! Then bake the pecan tarts for 25-30 minutes, until the filling has set.
- Place the muffin tray on a wire rack and allow the mini pies to cool for 10 minutes. Then, use a butter knife to carefully remove each pie from the pan, top with a small dollop of whipped cream, and enjoy!
Another Delicious Twist on Traditional Pie
