Whether you want to call these mini pecan pies or giant pecan tassies, they are the perfect little pre-portioned dessert for holiday gatherings (or for keeping in your freezer for when you want a little treat). But the best part is that these Mini Dark Chocolate Pecan Pies are incredibly easy, so if you’re intimidated by pie baking, this is an excellent place to start. Pecan pies tend to be a little too sweet for me, so I added a little bitter dark chocolate to balance the extremely sweet caramel-y filling. I also experimented with adding a pinch of flakey sea salt to the top of a couple of the pecan pies, which was quite delightful!
Want more holiday food? Check out our Holiday Recipes category.
What Kind of Chocolate Should I Use?
I used a 70% dark chocolate made by Moser Roth (sold at Aldi). If you want to go darker you can, just be mindful that the darker you go the more bitter it gets. The chocolate I used comes in a package with five mini bars, 25 grams each, and I used three out of the five. You can use more or less as you see fit.
How to Store the Pecan Pies
You can keep these Mini Dark Chocolate Pecan Pies in the refrigerator for up to four days, or, once completely cooled, place them in a freezer bag and freeze them up to four months.
Mini Dark Chocolate Pecan Pies
Servings 12 Mini PiesIngredients
Crust
- 8 Tbsp salted butter, room temperature ($0.75)
- 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature ($0.60)
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.13)
- 1 Tbsp sugar ($0.02)
Filling
- 75 grams dark chocolate, divided ($1.19)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten ($0.26)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar ($0.36)
- 1 Tbsp melted butter ($0.09)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.14)
- 2/3 cup pecan pieces ($1.69)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Beat together the butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Once combined, add 1 cup flour the sugar, and beat again until combined. The mixture may look dry and crumbly, but should stick together when squeezed with your hands. Form the mixture into a ball, adding an extra tablespoon or two of flour if it becomes too sticky.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. The easiest way to do this is to first divide the dough into four equal-sized pieces, then divide each of those into three. Roll each piece into a ball, then place each one in the well of a regular-sized muffin tin (NOT a mini muffin tin). The muffin tin does not need to be greased.
- Use your fingers to press the dough balls into the bottom and up the sides of the muffin tin wells. It’s okay if the dough does not reach the very top of the well. Make sure to press it deep into the corners, to avoid rounded thick corners. Place a dime-sized piece of chocolate into each of the shaped pie crusts. I used about 50 grams of the chocolate in the bottom of the pies, and the rest was used to drizzle on top after baking.
- To make the filling, add the beaten egg, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and pecans in a small mixing bowl. Stir to combine, avoiding beating the mixture too much or causing frothy air bubbles.
- Spoon the mixture evenly between each of the pie crusts. The filling will only fill each pie crust about half way, but will puff up as it bakes. Once filled, place the muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Once the pies are baked, melt the remaining 25 grams of chocolate. You can melt it using a microwave, heating for 15 seconds at a time and stirring well after each heating, until melted, or by placing a small bowl over a double boiler. Once melted, drizzle the chocolate over each pie.
- Allow the pies to cool completely, then use a small knife to gently lift them out of the muffin tin.
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Nutrition
Love mini pies? Check out my Mini Pumpkin Pies or my Mini Broccoli Cheddar Quiches!
How to Make Mini Pecan Pies – Step by Step Photos
Start by preheating the oven to 350ºF. Beat together 8 Tbsp (one stick) of room temperature butter and 4 oz. of room temperature cream cheese until they are evenly combined.
Add 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 Tbsp sugar, and beat again until the mixture looks loose and crumbly.
Although the dough may look dry, it should stick together when squeezed with your hand. Shape the dough into a ball, adding another tablespoon or two of flour if it becomes too sticky.
Divide the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces. The easiest way to do this is to first divide it into four equal pieces, then divide each of those into three pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then place each one in a well of a regular sized muffin tin (not a mini muffin tin). Use your fingers to press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the wells. Make sure to press it deep into the corners to avoid rounded thick corners. This will help it extend further up the sides, too. Place one small dime-sized piece of chocolate in the bottom of each pie crust.
Next make the filling. In a bowl combine one slightly beaten large egg, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 Tbsp melted butter, 2/3 cup pecan pieces, and 1 tsp vanilla.
Stir these ingredients together with a spoon, trying to avoid vigorous beating or causing it to get frothy or form too many air bubbles.
Spoon the filling into each of the shaped pie crusts. It will only fill each one about half way, but it does puff up as it bakes.
Bake the Mini Pecan Pies for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
Melt the remaining 25 grams dark chocolate either by microwaving in a small bowl for 15 seconds at a time, stirring well each time until it’s melted, or by placing the bowl over a double boiler. Once melted, drizzle the chocolate over each mini pecan pie.
Allow the mini Dark Chocolate Pecan Pies to cool, then use a knife to gently lift them out of the muffin tin. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for four days, or freeze for four months.
Hey Beth! These look delicious. Planning to veganize them for my family’s Thanksgiving. What is the function of the cream cheese in the crust? Would you recommend using a vegan cream cheese in replacement or just omitting it and increasing my vegan butter by 4 oz? I plan to use a Flax Egg instead of the large egg in the filling. Thanks in advance for your insight!
I’m not very familiar with vegan cream cheese, so I’m not sure how that would perform in this case. The cream cheese just gives it a slightly different flavor and texture than regular pie crust. You can do all butter instead, but it will be more like a traditional pie crust, where as this crust is a bit less flakey and a bit more tender.
Ok these are SO good…I made them for dessert tonight, but I just can’t stop sampling them ;)
This is my first BudgetBytes dessert, and wow is it a keeper. Thanks Beth!!
Wow this recipe is so good. Made this with the suggestion of adding bourbon to them in the comment above, and they tasted great. Love your blog. The pictures you take are such good quality. Keep up the good work.
Do you freeze them with the chocolate on top?
Yes, I did. :)
These look great! Do you have a go to filling for other pies that I’m missing on the site? I might make 12 mini pies, but 3 or 4 different fillings including this one )I just want to make sure they all go with the crust – is the cream cheese in it a strong flavor?). Thanks!
No, unfortunately I don’t have a pie filling recipe. I actually very rarely cook desserts! :P I can’t taste the cream cheese at all once it’s baked. When I sneaked bits of the dough when it was raw (#guilty) I could taste it, but not once baked. :)
Can I use Crisco instead of butter?
I don’t suggest it. Crisco is all fat, whereas butter has other elements in addition to fat, which affect both flavor and texture.
I have an egg allergy. Is there an egg substitute?
I don’t have a substitute for the egg in this one, unfortunately. The egg is vital to getting the correct consistency of the pie filling. There may be ways around it, but it would definitely take some testing to see what would work.
I believe a flax egg (1 TB ground flaxseed + 2.5 TB water) would do the trick in this instance. I will be testing it out next week, I’ll try to remember to report back :)
Yumm 😋😋😋😋
Made this recipe at Thanksgiving and they were such a hit, I made them again at Christmas!
I did have success making these in a mini muffin tin and baked them for a shorter amount of time. The tiny size was quite popular with friends and family. Can’t wait to make them again this year!
Made these yesterday – overall quite easy and delicious! I would argue you can leave the chocolate out on top (it was a little too chocolatey for me) but they delicious warm and cold! The crust was also delicious, who know cream cheese would be a winner! It’s a great alternative for thanksgiving.
I love that you are using Aldis chocolate here. These look so decadent and delicious! Love the single serving size here.
I use silicone muffin cups on a baking sheet when making muffins (got rid of the muffin pan a while back). Do you think these would work with free-standing silicone muffin cups?
Hmm, I’m not sure. I’ve never baked with silicone so I’m not sure if or how it changes things.
a family member is allergic to tree nuts but not peanuts. Beth, how would this taste with unsalted peanuts instead of pecans?
Interesting, I bet that would be almost like peanut brittle in flavor, but soft instead of hard. Ha! I really can’t say if it would be “good” though, that would be a personal call.
Your recommendation for the Moser Roth chocolate is right on–budget price, luxury taste. And those little bars are only 90 calories each. We like the variety with chili, and that’s what I’m going to use for these–no one will notice the tiny touch of heat, but it should enhance the chocolate taste. I love the idea of freezing single serving pies as a 9 incher usually feeds the garbage disposal before we finish it up. And no corn syrup! Hooray!
CORRECTION–those little bars have between 140 and 150 calories each–don’t know how I remembered 90. It must have been wishful thinking
Will it change too much if I leave the chocolate out from the bottom of the pie? My boyfriend is going to go mad over these!!
You can definitely leave out the chocolate if you prefer. :) It will work just as well.
Pecan pies with chocolate are Derby Pies, a Kentucky favorite. Try adding some bourbon to them.