When you really want pecan pies but want small ones!
Choose a shortcrust pastry recipe. I tried Delia Smith's (lard and all) and Smitten Kitchen's (scroll down to "A Great Savory Tart Shell"). They both work. Delia's is more economical, without the egg, and can be made with all butter instead of butter and lard. I made a couple of pans of mini cases; once I rolled out the pastry straight away, cut and fitted it into the pans, then rested it before baking. The next time I rested the pastry first, then rolled and cut it. The second method was slightly more effective.
Use a a mini muffin pan to bake the mini pie shells. Don't have the right sized pastry cutter? Use a glass. Pick one with a rim slightly wider than the size of the mini muffin pan:
The pastry cases spent a week in the freezer before being filled and baked again. Don't bake them too well the first time - leave them very pale:
I used a recipe from taste.com.au for the filling, but as I was filling much smaller pastry cases, I made less filling. For 24 pastry cases you will only need:
17g unsalted butter, chopped
50g brown sugar
50ml golden syrup
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
80g pecan halves
Fill cases with nuts, top with melted and mixed filling, and bake for no more than 10 minutes in a 180 degree oven:
