These mini pecan tarts have light, crispy cookie crusts filled with decadent homemade pecan pie filling. They’re everything you love about pecan pie, baked into a bite-sized treat!
There’s nothing better than mini versions of my favorite holiday desserts. If you love these mini pecan pie tarts, try my mini apple pies and easy mini cheesecakes baked in a muffin pan, too!
Adorable Tiny Pecan Tarts
My mini pecan tarts are basically two-bite pecan pies, with gooey pecan filling and all. I stumbled upon this recipe while sorting through the hundreds of recipe cards my mom passed on to me a few years back. It’s a recipe from my dad’s side of the family, who were BIG fans of pecan pie (meanwhile, we were all about pumpkin pie in our house). Some of you might know them as Pecan Tassies, but we always called them tarts.
These mini pecan tarts are perfect for the holidays. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to eat a slice of pie with a glass of wine in your hand, but it’s not always easy. Bite-sized tarts are the answer!
Why I Love These Mini Pecan Tarts
- Perfect for cookie plates. These mini tarts are such a fun, unexpected addition to a holiday cookie platter. They’re cute and delicate, perfect for a holiday party, neighbor gift, or cookie exchange! (I feel as though cookie exchanges might be dying out with our generation, but I am the first person to throw my hand up to keep the tradition alive.)
- Simple ingredients. One of the first things that drew me to this recipe is that the crust only called for 3 ingredients, including cream cheese. I’d never made a crust recipe with cream cheese before. When I took my first bite, though, I was amazed at how soft and delicate the crust turned out.
- Easy to make. Mini pecan tarts share a lot of the same flavors as pecan pie, without the hassle of having to actually bake a whole pie. All two bites are packed with gooey filling and pecan crunch! They’re super simple, made with only 8 ingredients in a few quick steps. These little pies store well, too, making them a great make-ahead dessert during the holiday season.
- Not too sweet. Some pecan pie recipes can be overly sweet, but not this one. Leaving the crust sugar-free balances out the richness of the brown sugar in the filling. There’s no corn syrup in this recipe, either. They turn out perfect without it!
Ingredient Notes
The tart crust is a simplified version of a cream cheese cookie, made with only butter, flour, and cream cheese. Since the pecan tart filling is sweet enough, I don’t add any sugar to the crust, and there’s still plenty of sweet, gooey goodness in every bite.
These are some quick notes on the important ingredients. You’ll find a printable list with the full amounts in the recipe card further on.
For the Crust
- Butter – I recommend unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.
- Cream Cheese – You’ll need full-fat cream cheese, also brought to room temperature.
- Flour – All-purpose flour works best.
For the Filling
- Brown Sugar – I use light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar or granulated sugar also works.
- Eggs – You can bring these to room temperature if you’d like.
- Butter – Melted before you start.
- Pecans – I like to buy whole pecans or pecan halves and chop them up roughly.
How to Make Mini Pecan Tarts
I make my mini pecan tarts in a greased mini muffin pan. You can certainly make them a little bigger using a standard-sized muffin pan if you prefer. Follow the easy steps below, and scroll down to the recipe card after the post for printable instructions.
- Make the crust. Beat softened butter with the cream cheese, and add the flour. Mix until a ball of dough forms.
- Make the filling. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar eggs, and melted butter with vanilla extract. Give the ingredients a mix and then fold in the pecans.
- Assemble the tarts. Roll balls of dough between your hands, and then press each dough ball into the greased well of a mini muffin tin. Use your fingers to push and shape the crust up the sides. Afterward, use a teaspoon or mini cookie scoop to spoon the filling into the prepared crusts.
- Bake. Bake the mini pecan tarts at 350ºF for the first 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 250°F and bake for another 10 minutes. Be sure not to open the oven, as you don’t want to lose any of that heat. Finally, take the tarts out and let them cool completely for serving.
Tips and Variations
- Stir gently. Whisking the pecan pie filling too vigorously froths the eggs, creating a frosted look once the tarts cool and the filling sets. Stir the ingredients together gently and fold in the pecans by hand to avoid overmixing.
- Bake high, then low. Starting at a high temperature and then reducing the oven temperature partway through baking helps set the tarts while the filling bakes through. You’ll get a thin little crust on top and a nice gooey filling in the middle.
- Use a cookie cutter. If you wanted to, roll out the dough for the crust to 1/4″ thick, and use a round cookie cutter (about 2.75″ in size) to cut out perfect circles. Press the circles into the muffin tin as usual.
- Add whipped cream. Right before serving, top each mini pecan tart with a swirl of homemade whipped cream (or try cinnamon maple whipped cream).
- Use another crust. You can make these mini pecan tarts with another crust, like this graham cracker crust, or even a classic flaky pie crust. Consider blind-baking flaky crusts before you fill them with pecan filling.
How to Store
- On the counter. Once these mini pecan tarts have cooled completely, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also keep them in the fridge to extend their shelf life to 5 days.
- Freeze. I recommend pre-freezing the cooled tarts either in the muffin pan or on a baking sheet. Afterward, place them into a freezer bag or airtight container and keep them frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw the mini pies at room temperature.
More Mini Desserts
Mini Pecan Tarts
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 24-30 tarts
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These mini pecan tarts have soft cookie crusts filled with decadent homemade pecan pie filling. Everything you love about pecan pie, baked into a bite-sized treat!
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
- 8 ounces (224g) cream cheese
- 2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
For the filling:
- 1 ½ cups (330g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon (5g) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (120g) pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a mini muffin pan.
- For the crust: In a medium sized bowl, combine the softened butter and cream and beat together until very well combined.
- Next, slowly add the flour and beat until all the ingredients are well combined and it has turn into a ball of dough.
- For the filling: In a medium sized bowl, combine the brown sugar eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract and beat together until well combined. Then fold in the chopped pecans.
- To assemble: It’s helpful to divide the crust in half and then separate out 12-16 balls of dough, approximately 1 tablespoon in size.
- Press each ball of dough into the greased muffin pan and press into the center of the dough, patting the dough against the edges to shape the crust.
- Fill each crust with 1 heaping teaspoon of filling.
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 250°F for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Notes
- Store these tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freeze for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tart
- Calories: 190
- Sugar: 11.2g
- Sodium: 32.7mg
- Fat: 12.5g
- Saturated Fat: 6.2g
- Carbohydrates: 18.1g
- Fiber: .6g
- Protein: 2.2g
- Cholesterol: 38.3mg
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Hello. I didn’t have the mini muffin pan so I made these in the regular size muffin pan. Quite a size difference, so adjusting the baking time was a guess. Do you have baking times for a the larger muffin pan? Also, how thin should the dough be? Although the filling was delicious and everyone loved them, the crust seamed too thick.
If you have a video to see the technique on how to form the crust around the muffin pan, that would be great.
Hi Priscilla, I will be adding a video this year for the holidays. I’ve never baked these in anything other than a mini muffin pan.
So good!
I think they tasted even better the next day. Two things- when I mixed the flour in for the crust, the batter climbed up the beaters and it was pretty messy. Maybe a dough hook works better on the mixer? I am visiting my daughter and only had beaters for the mixer.
Secondly- I had made pecan tarts before but couldn’t find the recipe so thought I’d try this one. I like this better. The top of the pecan tart has a nice little crust and it’s delicious.
I would definitely make this again- with a dough hook on mixer
Thank you so much for sharing Nancy!
I remember in the 1970s my mom making these, and it being my job to carve them out of the pan in a single piece. Today when I was making them, I realized that rather than pressing the dough into the muffin tin, I first sprayed the muffin tin, then took each ball of dough and made a pinch pot in my hands before gently placing it in the tin. Popped right out!
That’s a great tip Jennifer! Thank you!
Can I use salted butter?
yes
I have used this recipe for many years, but recently I moved to a very high altitude city and I found that they just explode. Do you have any suggestions on how to modify the filling if you make it at a high altitude so that it won’t explode? Thank you for any help you can give me. I have been experimenting but just can’t find the right ratios.
Hi Miriam, I wish I had better advice but I really have no experience with baking at high altitude.
I have the same problem. Try searching for “Making Pecan Tarts at High(er) Altitudes. I found a few, now just have to decide which one or ones to try. Good Luck.
Thank you so much Ellen, very helpful!
Can you use walnuts instead of pecans?
Yep!
Can I make the dough the day before & refrigerate?
I haven’t tried it but you should be okay, you just may need to give it some time to soften if it’s difficult to work with.
This recipe is a keeper. Next time I will have to make two batches!
Love that Kathy! Thank you so much for sharing!
Can they be made ahead of time and frozen?
I have not actually tested freezing this recipe- so I can’t say with certainty. I did some Google research and it seems similar recipes have said they can be frozen.
I have been making this exact recipe for 50 years. They freeze beautifully.
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing!
LOVED this recipe! My family started drooling over them after I made them. Such simple ingredients! They said it was the best thing I had ever made 🙂 Love your website. I used one of your recipes for my final project (I go to UCSB) in a class on the anthropology of food and the whole class loved it! Wish I had enough time to try every recipe. Keep up the awesome work.
Thank you so much Sarah! This makes me so happy!