I’ve been playing around with butter-marbled dough and a flour-powdered face for a few months now, because fall is really the time to get elbow deep into pies in whatever form. Hand, mini, Dutch, tart…. We’ll take them all this year. I feel like I warned you about this? Flooding my blog with recipes that include a buttermilk pie crust. Tis’ the season, friends. Tis’ the season.
Life has been more of the same. I’m swallowed up in planning, working and all the things that come with this unpredictable life. I’ve been trying to take a day off here and there but it’s not working. However, I really can’t complain because I’m head over heels for what I do. Especially when, at the end of the day, my kitchen is flooded with a mess of tested and untested recipes and my computer is saturated with unedited photos ready to get their perfected touches.
Sometimes I marvel. I look back on what it was like three years ago to drop all of my best-laid plans and follow a scary dream. A dream that seemed to have been lying dormant in the very depths of my soul, as cheesy as that sounds. I remember falling in love with the process, hating that time seemed to stand still as I waited for success, whatever that meant.
That is why I very rarely take days off. Because I really love what I do. I love it all. I love picking up mass quantity of Slow Roasted Salted Pecans to test out the best way to make them into mini pies. And, if you’re asking me, it’s Browned Butter and Maple Mini Pecan Pies. I love finding the best way to photograph them so that other people will want to make them too. This life, this job is a true gift. Every. Dang. Minute of it.
This time of year, I’m drawn to picking up all things Private Selection when I’m walking around Fred Meyer. They always have exactly what I’m looking for when I need to bake up a batch of chocolate chunk cookies or find a seasoning to complement whatever roast I’m cooking up that night. It’s a higher-end product that just makes my baking hit the next level.
The maple in this recipe is barely noticeable, if just a slight aroma, since I used syrup instead of maple extract. I didn’t want it to overpower, because the salty pecans that I picked up at Fred Meyer are the headliner here. I browned the butter because, you guys, it’s what I do, I BROWN THE BUTTER. It gives a nutty warmth to an already fantastically caramel-forward pie.
I made them into mini pies because I love the idea of being at a holiday party and grabbing a pie to eat, without plates, without a fork, without a care, like a cookie. The best part of making them mini is that you don’t have to wait an ungodly amount of time for the pie to set. They are set about 15 minutes after you take them out of the oven. Therefore, the perfect pie recipe to make on a whim.
Thank you, Kroger, for sponsoring this post. Private Selection means that it was made with the finest care and best ingredients so you know you’re eating quality.
Browned Butter and Maple Mini Pecan Pies
A warm and toasty mini pecan pies are brought to life with browned butter and maple syrup. Perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings
Ingredients
|| Crust ||
3 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups butter, chilled
1/2 cups buttermilk plus 2 tablespoons
|| Filling ||
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup chopped Private Selection Toasted Pecans
If desired, top with flaked sea salt and red currants.
Instructions
|| Crust ||
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Grate the chilled butter and toss with the dry ingredients.
Start to work the butter in with your hands until the mixture starts to look buttery and the flecks of butter in the dough are pea-sized or smaller. Drizzle in the buttermilk, and toss together with a fork until it’s too stiff to work anymore. Use your hands to fold the dough and squeeze it dough together to make one dough ball.
Shape the dough into a disk about the size of a dinner plate. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Roll out dough as thin as you can get it. Cut into 4-5 inch rounds. Place in individual muffin tins. Put the muffin tin in the fridge while mixing the filling
|| Filling ||
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter over medium heat until the milk fats start to separate and eventually brown. This should take 3-5 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Whisk the brown butter, sugar, maple syrup, dark corn syrup, nutmeg, and salt together. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together then add to the mixture. Chop the pecans and add to the filling.
Pour the filling almost to the top of the pie shells and cover with tin foil.
Bake for 25 minutes then remove the foil and continue to bake for another 15 minutes.
Keywords: pecan, pecan pie, Thanksgiving, pie
