Week Seven - Mini Pecan Pies

I haven't met a pecan pie that I didn't like.  It's all just sugar and pecans, right?  These mini pies were a nice break from the traditional pie but still had a great crust.  We took these to a dinner party and impressed our neighbors.  I think my wife secretly likes my pie obsession.  Secretly.

 

Crust

2 1/2 c flour

1/4 c sugar

1/2 t salt

1 cup butter flavored shortening

1 egg

1 T vinegar

1/4 c cold water

Mix dry ingredients.  Cut shortening into dry ingredients until crumbly.  Beat egg and add to dough along with vinegar.  Add water.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes and grease two muffin pans.  Roll out dough onto a smooth, floured surface.  I used a wide mouth jar lid to cut the dough into a circle. Using either your hand or some weird wooden tool you find randomly at the only time you would ever possibly need it, press the dough into the cups of the muffin pans. 

Pecan Pie

2/3 cup chopped pecans, separated

1 c brown sugar

2/3 c corn syrup

2 t vanilla

3/4 t salt

2 eggs

2 egg whites

whipped cream for garnish

24 pecan halves for garnish



1/3 cup doesn't go very far when divided by 24 cups.



Divide 1/3 cup of the pecans among the muffin cups.  Set aside.  Stir everything else together unless it is for garnish.  I like this recipe because I really don't understand the point of doing weird things like 'folding' and adding eggs one at a time.  With this recipe, just throw it all into a bowl and stir. 

Spoon filling into muffin tins.  Be very careful not to spill onto the ouside edge of the dough (between the dough and the pan) as it will burn and taste nasty (see pictures below).  Also, don't fill it all the way to the top as it will overflow and burn and taste nasty.  I was a little worried about how much to fill and exactly how to spread the filling among the cups, but it actually worked out pretty perfectly. 

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  Cool for about 10 minutes and then loosen the mini pies, remove and cool them on a wire rack.  Carefully scrape away the places where the sugar filling burned on the edge of the mini pie.  It's a lot like scraping the burn off of toast.  Garnish and serve.