Deliver A Bouquet of Bitesize Pecan Pies

I'm going to my Mom's for Easter dinner and since I know there's going to be a ton of food there, I thought I'd make a dessert that satisfies everyone's sweet tooth but doesn't put them over the edge. These are very easy to make and can be baked a few days ahead of time and stored in a covered plastic container to keep them fresh.


Biteside Pecan Pies (otherwise known as Pecan Tassies)

This recipe is from the April 2006 issue of Martha Stewart Living which is full of amazing Easter projects and recipes bound to make almost anyone feel like an underachiever. This recipe is a simple one though. You can do it! I adapted it slightly based on my experience making them.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


What you need:
1 or 2 mini-muffin tins
Electric mixer
Food processor or coffee bean grinder


Ingredients:

For the Dough:
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese. (If your grocery store doesn't carry mascarpone cheese, you can substitute cream cheese.)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt

For the Filling:
1 large egg
1/4 cup light-brown sugar
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup pecans, finely chopped


How to:

To make the dough:
1. Process pecans in food processor until finely ground. Set aside.
2. Put mascarpone and butter in a bowl and blend with an electric mixer on medium.
3. Add flour, ground pecans and salt; mix just until dough comes together. Alternatively, stir together with a wooden spoon.
4. Roll dough in your hands into 1-inch balls, and press into bottoms and up sides of cups of mini-muffin tins.

To make the filling:
1. Whisk the egg, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, butter and salt in a small bowl.
2. Stir in pecans.
3. Spoon about 1-1/2 teaspoons of the filling into each crust.

Bake until crusts begin to turn brown. This recipe says about 15 minutes but I used silicone muffin tins and it took more like between 20 - 25 so take a peak at 15 and if they're not brown at all, let them go another 5 minutes or so.