Abundant Pecans, Thanksgiving & A Recipe For Bite-Sized Pecan Pies
As the seasons turn and we head into winter we start to think about our favorite comfort foods.
Dishes that are not only delicious and comforting, but also offer a hefty feel good dose of nostalgia. Dishes that maybe your mother or grandmother have been making for as long as you can remember.
These dishes often tie themselves to winter holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas due to the availability and abundance of native produce. These dishes then go on to become central to our feasts, even though we now have access to a wider range of more exotic or expensive ingredients from around the globe.
Pecans
Pecans are native to North America and have long been prized by those who call the continent home.
The word pecan comes from the language of the Algonquin tribe and translates as ‘nut needing a stone to crack’. Native Americans made wild pecans a big part of their diet in the autumn due to them being so readily available.
By the 18th century pecan trees were being regularly cultivated by colonists and had become a booming industry by the early 1800s.
Thanksgiving
One of the best known ways to enjoy pecans is in a pecan pie.
Much like its dessert-trolley cousin, the pumpkin pie, pecan pie has become synonymous with the Thanksgiving feast.
The reason why pumpkin and pecan pies are used to celebrate is no real mystery — their harvest aligns perfectly with this holiday.
What better way to celebrate and give thanks than with traditional, sustainable, and native produce?
Bite-Sized Pecan Pies
Pecan pies are a literal feast for the eyes.
When you look at one you can practically smell and taste the deep caramel flavors of its interior and feel the different textures as you eat it. You just know there will be lovely caramelised bits on the top layer, golden crumbly pastry, and a melting nut-filled middle layer.
If you are expecting a lot of guests this Thanksgiving or at any point over the festive period then these mini pecan pies are a great little bake.
You can whip them up in minutes and maybe make them alongside some other mini desserts like pumpkin or apple pies, offering your guests a variety of choices. I mean why have one dessert when you can have three?
You can also bake them ahead of time and freeze them, saving you precious time to spend with family on the big day. All you need to do is defrost them and maybe pop them in the oven for two to three minutes to warm them up a little.
Bite-Size Pecan Pie Recipe
Here is our quick and easy recipe for mini pecan pies. The recipe makes between 12 and 16 golden mouthfuls depending on the size of your mini-muffin pan.
Ingredients
Pie crust pastry (check out the one we used for our Halloween pumpkin pie)
100g Pecans (roughly chopped)
50g Salted butter (melted)
100g soft brown sugar
100g Golden syrup (corn syrup)
1 egg (beaten
1tsp Vanilla
Let’s make mini pecan pies…
Roll out your chilled pastry and cut out 12 circles in an appropriate size for your mini-muffin pan and place them in the well-buttered and flour-dusted holes.
In a relatively large bowl mix together all of the filling ingredients until everything comes together and is fully incorporated into a luxuriously glistening mixture that silkenly slides from your spoon.
Carefully fill your pie cases. Taking your time not to get any over the edges or overfilling them will pay dividends in the long run as they will then pop out of the pan easily when baked. Ask me how I know!
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C (350F) or 160C (325F) fan. Bake for around 15 minutes, but keep your eyes on them as they go from done to horrifically burnt in seconds. Again, ask me how I know!
Let them cool for 5 minutes before removing those little golden bites to a rack to finish cooling. You may find you can’t wait that long though.
If you have any spare pastry and pecan mix, do another round — no one will complain.
Serve them alongside your usual Thanksgiving desserts or as a sweet canapé at any given opportunity over the winter festivities.
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!