Christmas Day may be over but that doesn’t mean Christmas treats need to end! Rather it’s what the Christmas season is all about, great films, great company and great food, especially the leftover treats!
For Christmas each year our staple dessert is trifle (always a winner) and then usually something chocolatey, whether that be a Yule log or ice cream cave cake, then of course cheese and crackers and sometimes profiteroles too.
I wanted to add a different dessert to the table and have been meaning to make pecan pie for a while and therefore decided to give these mini pecan pies a go. What’s great about them is that they take hardly any time to make, use only 10 ingredients and have no refined sugar. We went a bit overboard with the custard for the trifle therefore opting for a dessert which tasted great without quite as much sugar seemed like a good idea!
It’s certainly been a rollercoaster year and we weren’t able to spend Christmas with the whole family this year but we still had a lovely day. I was spoilt with some beautiful gifts, had lots of bucks fizz and mulled wine and we managed to squeeze watching Home Alone in too. You can never go wrong with a good Christmas classic! I also watched A California Christmas on Netflix too which although cheesy, absolutely loved!
With some time off work its been so nice to unwind and I now have more time for baking so will hopefully be posting some more recipes soon. These pies were really fun to make and I’ll definitely be making them again soon.
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas with delicious food and desserts. Give these pecan pies a go and let me know how you get on, they go perfect with a glass of Baileys.
Festive Pecan Pies
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 10 – 12 mins
Total time: 25 -30 minutes
Serves: Approx 12 pies
Ingredients
Pie Crust
180g oats (regular or gluten-free)
150g pecans
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
80ml maple syrup
pinch of salt
Pecan Filling
160g pitted Medjool dates
100ml almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinanmon
pinch of salt
pecans to top
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/360 degrees F.
2. In a small saucepan melt your coconut oil and leave to one side.
3. In a food processor, pulse the oats, pecans, coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt together until combined.
4. Scoop a spoonful of the mixture into a mini tart pan (2-3 inches diameter) and press the mixture down at the base and around the sides with your hands.
5. Bake in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and let cool.
6. In a food processor or blender, mix together the dates, almond milk, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt until you get a creamy and smooth texture, and everything is combined.
7. Spoon the filling into each pie case and top each pie with a pecan.
8. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve!
The pies are best served on the day they are made but can keep fresh for up to 3 days.
