Bite-size Pecan Pies with Candied Bacon

I got invited to a hipster-themed party recently, so I decided to embrace the theme and rework my pecan pie recipe. It was an opportunity to experiment with bacon (which is somehow a hipster thing) and at long last an excuse to wear cutoff shorts with tights. I made three varieties of candied bacon - brown sugar, maple, and Newcastle glazed. Not surprisingly, the Newcastle glazed bacon was the best, so that's the only recipe I'll include here. I also reduced the amount of sugar and corn syrup and added brandy to my original pecan pie recipe, so perhaps I should call these "Boozy Bite-Size Pecan Pies."

Start with pecans, sugar, light corn syrup, butter, 3 eggs, salt, and (not pictured) brandy.

Prepare butter crust in advance. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Beat 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons of brandy, 1/2 a cup of sugar, 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup melted butter (not too warm because that will cook the eggs), and one cup of corn syrup.   

Set aside and crush one cup of pecans. This is how I did it:

Add the pecans to the sugary mixture and set aside. Next, generously flour a flat surface and roll out your dough until it's about 1/8 of an inch thick.

Using a cup that is about three inches in diameter, cut two dozen disks out of the dough and press them into your mini muffin tin. Fill them almost to the top with the pecan mixture.

Bake at 375 for thirty minutes. To check if they are done, remove one of the pies from the tin and make sure the crust is lightly brown on the bottom.

Let cool. Finally, make whipped cream. Using a mixer, whip 1 cup of heavy cream on a high speed until it is thick. As it mixes, add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla. 

Pipe the whipped cream onto the cute lil pies. Finally, add the garnish (which you can make a the day before) of Newcastle candied bacon. To make it, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place several strips of bacon (or twelve because you will want to eat the rest) on a baking rack on a cookie sheet that is lined with aluminum foil. Brush with a mixture of half a cup of newcastle and half a cup of brown sugar. About every ten minutes, flip the bacon over and brush with more of the mixture. Bake until crispy, about thirty minutes. Let cool and cut into thin strips.

Pipe the whipped cream onto the pies and place a few strips of bacon into the cream.

Bite-size Pecan Pies

3 eggs 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup butter, melted 2/3 cup dark or light corn syrup

2 tablespoons brandy 1 cup pecans, crushed Prepare butter crust in advance. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix eggs, sugar, salt, butter, corn syrup, and brandy with electric mixer. Add pecans and set aside. Roll out dough until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick, and cut 24 discs out of the dough using a glass that is about 3 inches in diameter. Press the discs into mini muffin tins and fill to the top with the pecan mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown.

Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the ingredients on medium-high speed until it resembles cool whip or the desired whipped-creamy texture.  If you find the whipped cream is too thick for you, add 2 tablespoons to a quarter cup of half and half as it mixes until it reaches the desired texture.  This will smooth out the whipped cream considerably.

Newcastle Candied Bacon

1/2 cup of Newcastle beer

1/2 cup brown sugar

12 strips of thick-cut bacon

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place several strips of bacon on a baking rack on a cookie sheet that is lined with aluminum foil. Brush with a mixture of half a cup of newcastle and half a cup of brown sugar. About every ten minutes, flip the bacon over and brush with more of the mixture. Bake until crispy, about thirty minutes. Let cool and cut into thin strips.

Pecan Pie

According to the chart of pies I posted earlier, January was pecan pie month. Not a fan of pecan pie, I have been reluctant to make it. But particularly unpleasant January weather and a fancy new camera motivated me to make it anyway. Although I can't say that I enjoyed eating this pie, making it turned out to be a fun way to spend another night cooped up inside. Plus I tricked a friend into doing most of the work, and I even got the bonus of being introduced to the Traveling Wilburys.  

There are only a few ingredients in this pie. Eggs, sugar, salt, butter, corn syrup and pecans (plus the flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening you'll need for the crust). Thank you, Kristin, for giving me your mom's recipe.  

Make the tried-and-true pie crust, or buy a ready-prepared crust. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Beat 3 eggs, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup melted butter (not too warm because that will cook the eggs), and one cup of corn syrup in the totally-not-superfluous  KitchenAid mixer.   

You'll end up with this oh so appetizing yellow liquid that does not call to mind bile. Not at all.

Then mix in one cup of pecans. I crushed half and kept half intact.

Roll out your crust and line a pie dish with it. Then pour in the pecan-syrup mixture.

Bake 40-50 minutes, or until the center is set. It'll come out looking like this:

It turned out with a layered quality that didn't seem quite right, possibly because I overcooked it a bit (for about 55 minutes). There was a gelatinous layer on the bottom, a crisp sugar layer over that, and a layer of pecans on top. 

But it wasn't terrible with a touch of whipped cream. 

Pecan Pie

3 eggs 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup butter, melted 1 cup dark or light corn syrup 1 cup pecans, broken or whole is fine Prepare pastry in advance. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat eggs, sugar, salt, butter and syrup with rotary beater. Stir in nuts. Pour into pastry-lined pan. Cover the edge of the crust with foil to prevent it from burning. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until filling is set.