Pecan Chewies are essentially like mini pecan pies, with a buttery, cream cheese crust, lots of pecans, and a brown sugar filling. If you really can't get into traditional pecan pie because of the thick layer of goo (*raises hand*), these are for you. They're goo-free.
The day before Uncle Mike arrived, I made the Pecan Chewies, and purely for quality control purposes, Mr. E, the kiddo and I tested one each. They were even better than I remembered.
"I wonder what one of these would be like with a little ice cream?"
Mind. Blown.
We'd never had these with ice cream growing up. We ran (ok, we drove) to the grocery store, grabbed a pint of Haagen-Dazs vanilla bean, and hurried back home.
With my small cookie scoop, we dished out a little dollop of creamy vanilla bean on a pecan chewie (and took 27 pictures of it). Oh. Wow.
With or without the ice cream, I beg you to try these for the men in your life. Only, be sure to call them Pecan Chewies...if you call them Mini Pecan Pie Tartlettes with a Dollop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, I'm pretty sure they become chick food.
Oh! My girlfriend Teresa from Blooming on Bainbridge has a similar recipe on her blog that makes 75!!! (This recipe makes 24.) So, if you're feeding a crowd, be sure to pop over to her recipe!
Pecan Chewies
{adapted from mom}
crust:
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, room temperature
1 cup sifted flour
filling:
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1 egg
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 TBSP salted butter, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
dash kosher salt
Toast the pecans: Place the pecans on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the sheet and set aside.
Beat together the egg, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth. You may see a few tiny bits of butter; that's ok.
...and press the dough into the bottom and sides of the cups.
{If you get messy like I did, just wipe the pan with a damp paper towel before baking.}
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until done. Cool on a wire rack in the pan for 5 minutes.
Remove the pecan chewies from the pan, using a knife to go around the edges if needed, and cool completely on the wire rack.
Serve naked (not you, the chewies) or with a small dollop of ice cream.
These seem so easy to make, I love how little they are. The perfect excuse to eat many of them, I would totally eat them with ice cream.
ReplyDeleteLOL I so would have had to try a few to make sure they were okay for my Uncle, you never know right;p
ReplyDeleteDo you think I can make these with a 12 muffin cup pan? Should I follow the same directions?
ReplyDeleteI make something very similar at Christmas time. I love these things. I need to make them more often. Yours look delicious!!
ReplyDeleteOf course, if you DID serve them naked (you, not the chewies), wouldn't that make it even MORE of a man's dessert??? ;oP
ReplyDeleteI think I will make these this weekend... I agree, they sound soooo girly with ice-cream!
ReplyDeleteAdorable and bitesize! The ice cream addition seems to be the perfect topping!
ReplyDeleteForget the dudes of my household - these would be ALL MINE! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is the first of many favorite recipes I got from your mom. She gave me this recipe before Mike and I were married....I was meeting you all for the first time...... about 2 months before Molly was born:)
ReplyDeleteI got home from visiting your family and went right out to buy those tiny tins, which always remind me of your mom.
Your pictures are beautiful! I need to make these more often.
Gosh those are pretty! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI am currently obsessed with anything pecan and I think this recipe just hit the mark.
ReplyDelete(I won't be sharing them either)
I'm with you on the goo! I like the ice cream idea but I immediately thought of chocolate, like a turtle... YUM. I'll be pinnign this later. :o)
ReplyDeleteThese were my Grandmother's signature dessert at Christmas. Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeleteI actually kind of like pecan pie goo. Lol
ReplyDeleteBut that brown sugar/egg sauce looks DIVINE!
Adorable, Bridget!
I'm from Tennessee, so sign me up for goo. But yes, these look delicious, especially with the ice cream.
ReplyDeleteBut the goo is my favorite part!
ReplyDeleteso jealous!!! I might need to make these. I loved coming to your house and having those growing up. :)
ReplyDeleteI grew up with these! We called them Pecan Tassies! Whatever the name they are delish! Thanks for the ice cream idea!
ReplyDeleteI am so not a fan of the goo either! These look like dinner :)
ReplyDeleteMy Mom has been making the same thing every Christmas since I can remember. The only difference is that she adds a halved maraschino cherry to the top of each tart.
ReplyDeleteThese look divine! I love any sort of bite-size food...too cute!
ReplyDeleteThis looks just perfect (especially for guys!)
ReplyDeleteYou have some very lucky dudes in your life. I have to say that the dudes would have to arm-wrestle me for these little beauties because they look so good!
ReplyDeleteI love these things--they're so dangerous. Another great twist is to put a Hershey's Kiss in the center. Ah-maz-ing!
ReplyDeleteDude! These are one of my all time favorite desserts. Don't know if I could share these with my fellas. Nah JK ;D
ReplyDeleteForget the guys I am making these for me:)
ReplyDeleteI bought a mini muffin pan some time ago and now I have a reason to use it!
ReplyDeleteWhile I've had lots of pecan tarts I've never had a pecan chewie. The crust sounds wonderful and certainly looks delicious. With or without ice cream I am definitely putting these on my MUST BAKE SOON BECAUSE I'M CRAVING THEM list.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful visit with your Uncle Mike:)
They look great! I make something similar (well, the crust IS the exact same). A Key Lime Tartlett. Delicious. I'll add this to my tartlett recipes.
ReplyDeleteThese are so cute (ok i know that is not dude friendly ha ha) But I know my husband will ove these! Ha ha your last comment really made me laugh!!!
ReplyDeleteYum! These look like lovely little pecan pies in bite sized form. My boyfriend would love these... if I let him anywhere near them ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love anything bite-size,these look yuuuum!
ReplyDeleteMmm mmm great for ladies too!!
ReplyDeleteYummalicious! I make my pecan pie with a layer of chocolate chips on the bottom of the pan before I pour in the "goo" and pecans. So I'm going to drizzle some chocolate over the top of these when I make them this weekend. Then get the ice cream. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHhhmmm, love pecans...and with vanilla ice cream, yum!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother made these for every family event! Well a version, I love LOVE LOVE this recipe and can say this is one heck of an easy and also one of the most loved things we always had at each family event/meal. She used to make up hordes of them ahead of time!
ReplyDeleteBridget,
ReplyDeleteThe pecan chewies were outstanding!
I enjoyed all of the one or two dozen I ate.
It was fun to visit. Thanks for a great trip.
Uncle Mike
These are totally guy food, Bridget. I totally agree. My fella LOVES pecans and asked me to buy a massive bag from the supermarket. I think I'll surprise him by baking up some of these. He will go wild!
ReplyDelete-Lisa.
Sweet 2 Eat Baking
Gorgeous, and so cute! These would be amazing for a party like a bridal shower or baby shower! guy food can be girl food sometimes, right? :)
ReplyDeleteI'll bet they would be fabulous with mini choclate chips in them or melted chocolate drizzled over the top - or maybe both!
ReplyDeleteI love everything about this recipe! Cook for me please? :D
ReplyDelete"Happy Cooking"
These are amazingly delicious. I'm definitely going to make them again! Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteMy hubby loves pecan pie so I bet he'd love this :-)
ReplyDeleteThese sound delicious and decadent! I think dudettes would love them too, at least this one would:)
ReplyDeleteI saw your post and made these tonight! :) Thanks for reminding me of an old family favorite.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! I made these tonight, they were delicious! I loved the simplicity of the recipe too! I added drizzled caramel sauce on top of the vanilla ice cream, at was dreamy!! ;) Thank you so much for sharing, once again, a fabulous recipe!
ReplyDeleteWOW they look good. I will be making these soon! What a cute little dessert fr a party!
ReplyDeleteAll of the photos of Uncle Mike are adorable! Maybe I feel that way because he is the spitting image and probably very close in age to my cousin, Raymond. Anyway, I made the Chewies last night and they are great and really fun to make. Please don't tell anyone but I popped one into my mouth this morning too and I think they are even better the day after. I used my smallest spring loaded cookie scoop (probably 1 tsp. size) for the brown sugar filling so there were no spills or drizzles -- one scoop for each cup used up the filling perfectly. On the most minute chance that there are any left when I get home this evening, we might try crushing them up into vanilla ice cream. There's a restaurant in NYC called Buttermilk Channel that makes Pecan Pie Sundaes -- they place a scoop of pecan pie (scoop -- not slice!) into a sundae glass, top that with a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream, then repeat both layers again and finish with a dollop of whipped cream. Sinful! Using your Pecan Chewies would make it that much more fun. Thanks for the fun.
ReplyDeleteMy husband would not let me make these by myself! He (and the dog!) oversaw the production of these delicious treats. Thank you for this recipe. This is the first time I have ever made/had these. They will now be part of my Thanksgiving menu!
ReplyDeleteIs it normal that the dough ends really sticky? I can't make balls with it, it's SO sticky!
ReplyDeleteThats why they dough needs to be in the fridge for a while, to loose its stickiness
DeleteI am sooo making these for my hubby for Thanksgiving. So, now we are having Bourbon Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Cream Pie and Pecan Tarts. I see a lot of treadmill time in my future.....
ReplyDeleteJust made these tonight in a 12-cup muffin tin-- they turned out flatter than the minis (there isn't enough dough to press all the way up the sides without it getting really thin), but they were soooo delicious nonetheless!
ReplyDelete