Baby Pecan Pies

These are delicious served warm as a dessert or can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. They also freeze well. It's best not to double the recipe, if you want to make more just make a second batch after the first.

 For the pastry:

• 125g butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• For the filling:
• 1 cup pecan nuts
• 60 g butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup soft brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method: Spray two 12 cup mini muffins tins with non stick baking spray. Place ingredients into a food processor and run machine until the pastry clumps around the blade. Divide pastry into 16 small balls and, with floured hands, press into the bases and up the sides of 16 muffin trays. Place the pastry-lined tins in the freezer to chill for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is really firm and hard. Divide the nuts between the pastry-lined cups, breaking the nuts in half if necessary. Pre heat oven to 180 degrees C. Melt the butter, whisk in the egg, brown sugar and vanilla essence until smooth but somewhat gluey. Using a small jug, pour approximately a teaspoon of this mixture into each nut filled cup and bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the filling set and crisp. remove from the oven for 5 minutes in the tins, until the pies are cool enough to handle. Give each pie a little twist to loosen the bottom, then carefully lift out to cool completely on a wire rack.

---