Mini Pecan Pies
These Mini Pecan Pies are easy to make and can also be made ahead of time. These are the perfect mini treat for Thanksgiving too!
These Mini Pecan Pies are the final pie recipe I wanted to share with you before Thanksgiving. It started with this delicious pumpkin pie recipe and now we’re moving on to these delicious Mini Pecan Pies because you really can’t go wrong with a mini dessert. Right? Not only are these mini pies extremely easy to make, but they’re also a great dessert that people can just grab and enjoy.
And these mini pies also freeze really well! I’ve included notes in the recipe for how to freeze them, so you can make these ahead of time if you need to.
You’ll start with a pie crust, you can either use a store-bought pie crust or make your own. If you’ve never made your own pie crust before, I have everything you need to know in this post for how to make your own! I promise making your own pie crust is much easier than you may think. You’ll roll the dough and then cut out 12 circles. I have a 3-inch cookie cutter that I used to cut the circles out. If you don’t have a cookie cutter, a glass or anything similar will work just fine.
Just a note, make sure that your dough comes up the sides of each muffin cavity just a little bit. You may need to stretch each piece of dough some before you put it into the muffin cavities. The filling should stay completely within each piece of pie dough.
You’ll mix up the pecan pie filling and fill each piece of dough with 1 tablespoon of the filling. I strongly urge you to make sure not to overfill each piece of dough. If your pecan pie filling ends up coming over the edges of the dough, it will make a big mess when you bake these little pies. It should look just like the picture above in the muffin pan.
This recipe will make 12 mini pecan pies, but you can easily double the recipe for a larger crowd. Enjoy!
Mini Pecan Pies
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust store-bought or homemade
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the pie dough out into a 12-inch circle. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter (or glass), cut out 12 circles from the dough. Place each piece of dough in each muffin cavity of a 12-count muffin pan, making sure each piece comes up the sides just a little bit (you may need to stretch the dough just a bit). Transfer the muffin pan to the refrigerator while you making the filling.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract until fully combined; then mix in the chopped pecans. Remove the muffin pan from the refrigerator. Evenly distribute the filling (about 1 full tablespoon) between all 12 muffin cavities, making sure the pecan pie filling does not come up over the edges of the dough.
- Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes or until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Carefully remove the mini pecan pies from the muffin pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Love mini pies? Here are a couple more recipes to try!
Can I do these in a 24 mini muffin tin?
That should be fine, you’ll just want to reduce the baking time.
Just finished making these pies for Thanksgiving. They came out beautiful. Will be making them often. Thank you for sharing your recipe and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
I made these last year at Thanksgiving and loved them so made I made another batch a few days later! I’m making them again this year, so excited I’ve been craving them recently. (I opt to add my pecans to the pan after I’ve filled all the crusts so I can get them evenly dispensed)
Thanks for a great easy recipe!
Can you prepare in the morning and bake closer to serving time?
You could prep the pie crust and have them ready in the pan. Then just make the filling the next morning, add it, and bake it. You can also make these the day before and just rewarm them slightly in the oven.
I used honey instead of corn syrup and skipped the brown sugar all together because I don’t like them too sweet. I also used 1.5 times the amount of pecans in the recipe. When I scooped the pecans into the tarts, I didn’t put as much of the liquid into the tarts. I had a lot of liquid left over. The result was a lot less sweet but had way more pecan fillings.
These turned out AMAZING!! I’d never made pecan pie before and the filling tasted exactly how it should, it tastes like the winter holidays. I used my own dough recipe and wow I will be making these again for sure! Thank you! 🙂
I did on mini muffin pans and checked them constantly, I think they took about 20 minutes 🙂
this recipe is AMAZING!, This is the first one I try and I don’t wanna try anything else, also made your pie crust and looooved it!
Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
So glad you liked the mini pies, Cynthia!
Can I use mini muffin pans? If so would I have to adjust the time?
That would be fine. I’m not sure on baking time, but you’ll probably want to reduce it slightly.
I made these last night and they turned out great! I used maple syrup instead of the corn syrup and added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. I also used cupcake liners because my tins are old, this helped with keeping everything clean and I liked how the crust looked after sitting in the liners.
Hi. Did you use a mini muffin pan for this recipe?
I used a regular muffin pan, not a mini muffin pan.
Hi Danielle
Can i please ask will these be ok nade 5 days ahead and kept in airtight container in fridge?
Thank you
Mel
That should be fine!
I would like to make these for my wedding and I really like the make ahead, freeze, thaw and serve aspect. Do you have any other pie/dessert recipes that also work well with that?
Hi, Jamie! I have quite a few regular and mini pie recipes here: https://www.livewellbakeoften.com/category/crisps-pies/. They would all freeze well aside from the mini pumpkin pies, they tend to pull away from the crust if you freeze and thaw them. Most of my other dessert recipes freeze well, if I’ve frozen them I add notes to the recipes too. Hope that helps!
These were so perfect for me! I make pecan pie every holiday for my brother-in-law, but we end up bringing home most of the pie. I’ve never liked pecan pie because it’s so sweet. But with these, they are the perfect size, so I’ll eat them, too! They just came out a little dark. I baked them for 20 minutes. I think I’ll lay foil on top and bake for 16-18 minutes next time to get them to look more like yours. Thanks!
So glad you liked the mini pies, Cheryl! If they’re getting a little too dark on top, then covering them with foil should help.
I used a regular muffin pan and had to triple the filling, there was no way it would have been enough. Mine are also bigger. I don’t know what I did wrong. They’re in the oven now, fingers crossed they turn out.
These mini pecan pies are smaller. It would be fine to increase the filling as long as you cut out larger pieces of pie crust and increase the baking time. I hope they turned out good for you!
Do you spray the muffin tins with nonstick spray?
You can if you want, but pie crust has enough fat in it so it won’t stick to the pan.
Have you done this recipe as full sized pie? Do I need to adjust baking time?
This wouldn’t be quite enough for a full pie, but I do have a regular pecan pie recipe here: https://www.livewellbakeoften.com/classic-pecan-pie/.
I’d like to bake these in cupcake papers because I have some adorable Christmas themed ones! Should I adjust my baking time or temp?
I don’t think you would need to adjust either one.
Do you think I could add coconut and chocolate chips to this recipe?
That should be fine!
Is it ok to use the store brought mini tart shells?
It kind of depends on the tart shells, but it may be okay.
Got them in the oven I’m a beginner at age 60 but we gotta start sometime
Hope the pies turned out great for you!
Yummy yummy yummy! I added a sprinkle of cinnamon. Next time I’ll add some nutmeg too.
Glad you liked the mini pies, Gail!
Do you use a mini muffin tin or regular sized?
I use a regular size muffin pan.
My pie crust came out very flaky and couldn’t hold the filling well. Did I roll the dough too thin or not cook it long enough?
Sorry to hear that, Danielle! It could be that the dough was too thin or that the crust wasn’t fully baked. Were the bottoms of the pies browned?
Hi, does this recipe call for light or dark brown sugar? And can dark corn syrup be used or would that alter the taste? I accidentally picked up dark instead of light.
I use light brown sugar. I think dark corn syrup will be fine as well.
Do you use light or dark brown sugar?
I use light brown sugar.
I am going to be taking these to Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow. Do I need to refrigerate overnight or can they be left out?
I prefer to refrigerate them. You can set them out a little ahead of time so they can come to room temperature.
This is a wonderful recipe – just as described! Easy to make and adorable. Will definitely become part of my annual Thanksgiving ritual from now on. Thanks for a fabulous, yummy and easy recipe!
Thank you, Joy! Glad you liked the mini pies 🙂
Is there a substitute for corn syrup? Thank you.
I’ve never tried substituting the corn syrup in my pecan pies, so I’m not quite sure.
I always substitute corn syrup with real maple syrup and have never had any issues
I sub with the maple syrup too for corn syrup. Works great!!
Hi Danielle I am currently making this and I took one of them out and cut it in half and the filling was a bit watery. Is that normal or should I bake for longer? It was baked for 20 minutes
Hi, Em! I typically bake mine for about 25 minutes. Were the top of the mini pies set? If not, you may want to let them cook for a few more minutes. Also, while they’re still warm the filling may be a little soft. It should firm up some too as they cool.