MINI PECAN PIES

THESE DELICIOUS LITTLE PIES ARE BEST EATEN STRAIGHT OUT OF THE OVEN WITH A DOLLOP OF VANILLA ICE-CREAM.

INGREDIENTS 

1 quantity pie-crust, unbaked

100 g caster sugar 

125 ml maple syrup 

¼ salt 

1 egg 

30 g unsalted butter, cubed 

¼ teaspoon vanilla essence

50 g shelled pecan nuts, chopped   

METHOD  

X Pre-heat the oven to 170 C  

X Find a clean work surface and dust it with some flour. Roll out your pastry until it is a few mm in thickness. Using a round cookie cutter cut out some pastry rounds and line the prepared mini pie tins. Trim the edges with a sharp knife.

X In a medium saucepan, combine the caster sugar, maple syrup and salt and bring to the boil. As soon as a rolling boil has been reached, switch off the heat and leave the syrup mixture to cool slightly (about 20 minutes.) 

X Put the egg in bowl and whisk for a few seconds until it is just mixed. Slowly pour the warm syrup mixture into the bowl containing the egg, stirring briskly all the time to avoid making scrambled eggs. 

X Add the butter and vanilla extract and mix it until all the butter has melted and all the ingredients are evenly dispersed. 

X Fill each pastry shell with a couple of pecan nuts and then pour the filling on top. Top each little pie with one whole pecan. 

X Bake the mini pies for about 20 minutes or until they are a dark caramel colour with a slightly crusty surface.

PIE-CRUST

125 g butter

1 teaspoon baking powder

250g flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons full cream milk

METHOD

X Crumb together the butter, baking powder, flour and sugar knead in the milk to form a smooth dough.