These mini chocolate pecan pies are delicious! And so cute! I think the fact that they’re “mini” makes them taste extra good. Believe it or not, I didn’t grow up eating pecan pie at holiday dinners and now realize that I was seriously missing out!
Growing up, pecan pie did not make a regular appearance at my house during the holidays. We always had apple, pumpkin, and chocolate peanut butter pies. All delicious, but I think pecan pie now needs to be included as part of the essentials (maybe someday I’ll post the chocolate peanut butter pie recipe). Honestly, it wasn’t until Kris and I started dating that I ever even seriously considered pecan pie. But Kris’s grandma always made it for the holidays, and it’s one of Kris’s favorite pies.
So a few weeks ago Whole Foods sent out a holiday magazine, and in it they were advertising a bittersweet chocolate pecan pie. And I wanted it, like obsessively needed it. I really try not to eat a lot of sweets and knew I’d eat the whole thing in a day if I bought it. So Kris bought it for me (#justification) and we ate it in two days, haha… wish I was joking. Anyway, I decided I wanted to try to make a “healthier” version and kinda succeeded.
For the last few weeks, I have been on mission to create a low sugar, “healthy-ish” version of the chocolate pecan pie we got at Whole Foods. And it’s been really hard! I tried using erythritol but that made me feel nauseous. It’s never bothered me before….so weird. And it didn’t bother Kris at all. So using erythritol was out.
So then I tried an almond flour crust and made a filling using dates as the sweetener, but the crust was too cakey for me. I still want a buttery, flakey pie crust! The pecan date filling was really good though. I go back and forth between trying to make dessert recipes healthier or just making them with with all the sugar and enjoying the dessert. On holidays I eat what I want and enjoy it. The rest of the time, I have dessert once a week, which usually consists of a few squares of dark chocolate with almonds. And then sometimes I go for a healthier version of a dessert and try to reduce the sugar.
Finally, I decided to use a sourdough pie crust with the date pecan filling and am calling it a success! The sourdough crust is optional. I actually included a different pie crust recipe or you can use your favorite pie crust recipe. While these still have more carbs in them than I would like, they don’t have any added sugar, well, except for what was in the chocolate and a little bit in the pie crust. These are perfect to take to holiday gatherings and make for a beautiful presentation. Everyone loves mini pies!
Delicious, mini bite-sized chocolate pecan pies that will impress at any Thanksgiving dinner. Made with a pecan date filling and dark chocolate.
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup water very cold
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups pecans ,finely chopped
- 8 dates ,large, pits removed, minced
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 22 whole pecans ,to top the mini pies
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Recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Makes one pie crust.
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In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt.
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Chop butter into small, almost "pea-sized" pieces. Incorporate butter into flour mixture using a pastry blender, two forks, or your fingers. Mixture will be craggily.
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Add very cold water to butter flour mixture. Mix until dough forms into a ball. Very slowly add more flour if dough is too sticky.
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Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to use.
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In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, melted butter, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
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Next add in pecans and dates. Stir until mixture is cohesive. Some of the date pieces might stick together. Break apart with a fork or spoon as needed.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Remove pie dough from fridge and roll out on a floured surface until about a 1/4 inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter (or glass cup), cut rounds out of the dough. Re-shape and re-roll the dough as needed. You should end up with 20-24 rounds.
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Place the rounds in a muffin tin. Lightly press the round down into the bottoms of the tins. The pie dough rounds will come about halfway up the sides of the tin.
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Place 5-6 chocolate chips on top of each mini pie crust round in the muffin tins.
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Then scoop about 2 tbsp of the pecan pie filling into the pie crusts. Scoop it right on top of the chocolate chips. Top with a whole pecan.
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Bake for 30 minutes, until the pie crust is golden brown.
Enjoy these Mini Chocolate Pecan Pies with KillerWhey! high protein ice cream!
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