These Mini Pecan Pies are made with premade puff pastry shells and a maple pecan pie filling cooked on the stove top. It is super easy to throw together at the last minute when you need a Thanksgiving dessert quick!
I have tested a from scratch pecan pie several times now over the last few years. Eventually it will have a place on the blog. But this year, I want to share a quick and easy pecan pie recipe with you because sometimes we all need a last minute quick win!
And don’t forget to serve it with fluffy homemade whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side!
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
- This mini pecan pie recipe is extremely easy to make, without compromising on flavor.
- The puff pastry shells are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar before baking to give it additional flavor and sweetness.
- They’re perfect for a small Thanksgiving get together or as an addition to a holiday dessert board.
Ingredients and Substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips for each ingredient:
- Puff pastry – I use store bought puff pastry shells for the crust to simplify the recipe. They come in a package of 6 pastry shells.
- Pecans – are used in the filling. You can substitute your favorite nuts here if you don’t want to use pecans. Check out this macadamia nut pie!
- Butter – I used unsalted butter because that is what I normally bake with. But since it’s such a small amount, you can use salted butter without needing to make any modifications. Use brown butter for even more delicious flavor if you wish.
- Brown sugar – I used light brown sugar in the filling. Dark brown sugar will also work, or you can use granulated sugar in a pinch.
- Granulated sugar – I use granulated sugar mixed with cinnamon to sprinkle on top of the puff pastries before baking. You can use raw sugar or Demerara sugar here as well.
- Maple syrup – beside brown sugar, maple syrup is also used to sweeten the filling. Most pecan pie recipes use light corn syrup, but maple syrup adds a different flavor to this recipe.
- Egg – 1 large egg is used for two purposes in this recipe. First, the egg is beaten with some milk to make an egg wash for the puff pastry to promote browning. Then, the remainder of the egg mixture is used in the filling to thicken it.
- Milk – I use milk to make egg wash. If you don’t have milk, cream will work or even water.
- Vanilla – A little vanilla extract goes a long way to add complexity to the filling flavor. Only pure vanilla extract for the best flavor, stay away from artificial flavoring.
- Cinnamon – is used to flavor the puff pastry as well as the pie filling.
- Flour – Just a little bit of all-purpose flour is used to further thicken the filling.
- Salt – Salt will enhance the flavor of the filling. I use kosher salt, if you’re using table salt, only use about two thirds or half as much.
Tools you’ll need
You don’t really need any special tools to make this recipe. But here are some things you’ll need:
- A pastry brush to brush egg wash on top of the puff pastry shells before baking.
- A baking sheet to bake the puff pastry on.
- And a small saucepan to cook the pecan pie filling in.
How to make mini pecan pies
The following instructions, step by step photos and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Place puff pastry shells on a lined baking sheet. Brush egg wash on top of the pastry shells and sprinkle cinnamon sugar generously on top. Bake until puffed and golden brown.
Tip: Make sure the puff pastry shell tops are up. The top has well defined indentations where you would cut the pastry to create the cavity after baking. I’ve accidentally placed them upside down and brushed egg wash on the bottoms before.
While the pastry shells are cooling, make the pie filling by adding the remaining egg wash to a small saucepan along with brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, melted butter and flour.
Cook over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil. Stir in the chopped pecans and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes until the filling thickens. Turn off the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.
When the pastries are cool enough to handle, use a small paring knife to cut around the perforations for the “tops”, then push it down to make a cavity for the filling. Add filling to the pastry shells.
The testing process
I’ve made the pecan pie filling for a full size from-scratch-pie several times already. Now it was just a matter of scaling it down for these mini pecan pies.
I’ve used maple syrup as well as corn syrup before. Most pecan pies are made with light corn syrup but I find the filling to be too sweet and maple syrup adds a subtle complexity that makes it that much more delicious.
As for the pastry shells, if you’ve made store bought puff pastry before, it tastes quite plain. Sprinkling the cinnamon sugar on top adds a nice little homemade element to them. For sure, do not skip this step!
I also tested the recipe another way, where I bake the empty pastry shells a little shorter, then fill it with the cooked pecan pie filling, and bake it the second time at a lower temperature. There was no noticeable improvement with the twice baked version so I finalized the recipe with the less labor intensive method.
More baker’s Tips
- Roast the pecans – roasting the pecans brings out their natural sweetness and nutty flavor. You can roast them in the oven or simply toast them on the stove top in a skillet for 3-5 minutes until brown and fragrant.
- Watch the puff pastry shells – with the addition of egg wash and cinnamon sugar, the pastries brown faster. You may not need to bake them for as long as the packaging direction or you can tent them with foil if you notice the top getting too brown.
- Double the recipe – this recipe for mini pecan pies makes just half a dozen, I highly recommend doubling the recipe. Simply double all the ingredients and proceed with the instructions.
FAQs
As I’ve said, I prefer maple syrup in pecan pie filling for the flavor. But you can use corn syrup instead like many classic pecan pie recipes call for. I recommend replacing some with molasses to add complexity if you opt to use corn syrup.
I used pecan halves in this recipe since I always have a big bag from Costco in the pantry. But you can certainly use chopped pecans since we’ll need to chop them up anyways.
Just keep in mind that when you measure chopped pecans, you will be able to pack more in a cup as compared to pecans halves. So if you’re using chopped pecans, you may only need ⅔ to ¾ cups.
Storage
These mini pecan pies are best eaten warm, the day you make them. But if you need to store them, you can keep them in an airtight container:
- At room temperature for 1 – 2 days.
- Or in the refrigerator for 3 – 5 days.
To make days-old pastries taste like freshly made, you can reheat them in the oven at 350°F for 5 – 10 minutes until the crust and filling are warmed through.
More delicious mini pies
- Pumpkin Hand Pies
- Apple Hand Pies
- Mini Plum Pies with Frangipane
- Blueberry Lemon Hand Pies
- Bite Size Guava and Cheese Pastries
📖 Recipe card
Mini Pecan Pies
Equipment
Ingredients
Pie crust:
- 6 puff pastry shells (1 package)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Pecan pie filling:
- 1 large egg (use for egg wash first)
- 1 tablespoon milk (or water)
- ¼ cup light brown sugar (50 g, packed)
- ⅓ cup maple syrup (100 g)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted, 1 oz, 28 g)
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 1 scant cup pecans (93 g, roasted and chopped)
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Beat 1 large egg with 1 tablespoon of milk (or water) to make egg wash.
- Mix ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar to make cinnamon sugar topping for the pastry shells.
- Arrange frozen puff pastry shells on a lined baking sheet, make sure the tops are up. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 16 – 18 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Add the remaining egg wash to a small saucepan along with brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, melted butter and flour. Cook over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil, stirring occasionally with a spatula. Stir in the chopped pecans and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes until the filling thickens. Turn off the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.
- At this point, the puff pastry shells should be cool enough to handle. Use a small paring knife to cut around the perforations for the “tops”, then push it down to make a cavity for the filling.
- Divide pecan pie fillings among 6 shells and serve with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.
Notes
- Watch the puff pastry so they don’t get too brown. You can tent them with a piece of foil toward the end if they start to brown too quickly.
- I recommend roasting the pecans first to bring out their natural sweetness and nutty flavor. You can roast them in the oven or simply toast them on the stove top in a skillet for 3-5 minutes until brown and fragrant.
- Total cook time for the filling is about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the vanilla extract at the end so it doesn’t boil off during the cooking process.
- You can easily double this recipe to make a dozen pastries.
Nutrition
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Made this today for wifey and I substituting with coconut and monk fruit sugars and it turned out absolutely incredible! Their favorite dessert is pecan pie and this was so much easier than making a full pie!
Yay, so happy to hear your wife enjoyed it! Thank you 🙂