Pecan Piettes

This sweet treat is gooey pecan pie in a bite-sized pastry shell. Make it a staple of your holiday buffet and add it to your go-to list of Christmas treats. While technically a tiny pie, it was one of the stars of my mother's Christmas cookie collection.
Prep pastry: 10 minutes Chill pastry: 1 hour Line mini-muffin cups with pastry: 20 minutes Prep filling and fill mini-muffin cups: 20 minutes Bake: 25 to 26 minutes Bake at: 325°F Yield: 2 dozen Pan: non-stick mini-muffin tin Special equipment: grapefruit knife or parchment paper Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

Pastry

  • 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • Non-Stick cooking spray

Filling

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup (159 grams) light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup pecans, chopped

Directions

Making the Pastry

  • Bring the cream cheese and butter for pastry to room temperature.
  • Measure the flour and salt into a small bowl and whisk to combine.
  • In a large bowl, use an electric mixer at medium speed to cream together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed and gradually add the flour mixture until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover and chill the dough for 1 hour.

Lining the Mini-Muffin Cups with Pastry

  • Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  • Prepare the mini-muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray.
  • If you don't own a grapefruit knife to extract the piettes from cups, cut long, narrow strips of parchment paper and place in each mini-muffin cup before lining with pastry. Each strip should extend beyond the edge of the cup. When baked, you'll use the "handles" to lift out each piette.
  • Pull off small pieces of pastry dough at a time (or use a #60 cookie scoop) and roll into twenty-four 1-inch balls with your hands. Press the dough balls into the mini-muffin cups with your thumb. Use your thumb to press the dough up the side of each mini-muffin cup and flatten the bottom.

Making the Filling

  • Melt the butter, let cool slightly, and pour into a medium bowl.
  • Add the egg, light brown sugar, salt, and pecans, and stir together. Do not combine the ingredients with an electric mixer.
  • Drop the filling by 1/2 tablespoons into the pastry-lined mini-muffin cups.

Baking the Piettes

  • Bake the piettes at 325°F for 25 to 26 minutes. The piettes are done when the crust is very light brown, and the filling is puffed and beginning to crack on top. The filling will still be a little bit gooey on the inside.
  • Let the piettes cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Use a grapefruit knife or parchment paper "handles" to remove the piettes to a wire rack to cool. The bend in the grapefruit knife allows you to slip the knife under the pastry and pop it out of the pan.
  • Store the piettes for up to 5 days in an airtight container with wax paper between layers. To freeze, place the cookies in an airtight tin, separating layers with wax paper, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Tips

  • To make Chocolate Pecan Piettes, finely chop 3/4-ounce Baker's semi-sweet chocolate squares in the small work bowl of a food processor. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon chocolate over the base of the pastry before adding pecan pie filling.
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