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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

TWD: Pecan Chocolate Mini Pies


Tuesdays with Dorie this week is brought to us by Beth at Someone's in the Kitchen with Brina. She chose Dorie's "My Favorite Pecan Pie" recipe - for which I am grateful since it was one of the recipes I had earmarked for my choice (back when I thought I would be choosing close to the Thanksgiving holiday instead of last Easter).

I love pecan pie, but often, as Dorie describes herself in the notes before the recipe, pecan pie can often be so cloyingly sweet that a few bites is more than I can handle. I actually made this recipe two times over the holidays - once at Thanksgiving at my parents' home where I made the 'plain' version with really no changes - I just left out the espresso powder, chocolate and cinnamon per Dorie's alternate instructions. If you are looking for a really great, simple and not too sweet straight-up pecan pie then this one is a real winner. I did take some really terrible pictures with my Dad's camera - just bad lighting and unfamiliar equipment, etc etc - but it didn't matter since I never had a chance to get the pictures off the camera.

Since I had really wanted to try Dorie's version (or at least closer to it) with the chocolate though, I decided to just rectify the situation by making the pie again. We are staying home alone this week for the holidays though - just the hubs, me and the two little hooligans I call my sons. Therefore, there was no need to make an entire pie. I made one-third of the recipe, with a few little tweaks here and there (I left in a little more chocolate, vanilla and pecans - just because) and made 4 really adorable 4.5-inch mini pies in little aluminum pie tins I picked up at a local restaurant supply store. I like making the individual portions and serving everyone their own little cute pie sometimes, so these come in handy.


The only other change I had to make to the recipe as far as that goes was in the actual baking times, which was understandably cut in to a much smaller time amount. Once I get all my changes written down and figured out, I promise to share them soon!

Though I have now made Dorie's pie crust recipe several times, it just doesn't quite replace my favorite (1/2 shortening 1/2 butter style recipe) so I went with that this time as well. Mainly, the reason I use that recipe is because it gives me the ability to 'style' the dough a bit more than I ever seem capable of with Dorie's dough - probably just me though.

We really enjoyed our mini pies and I really loved them with the chocolate and cinnamon added in. Really it just depends on your mood I think because this recipe is a real winner either way.


These also made a nice little dessert that I'm saving for dessert tonight -
since today (December 22nd) marks my 11th wedding anniversary!
Happy Anniversary to my husband, Dusty - never a dull moment!

19 comments:

Rachelle S said...

Oooh these sound good! I've been away from TWD since Nov. Maybe I'll get back to it in Jan. =)

Snooky doodle said...

oh these look so good !!

Jennifer said...

Happy Anniversary!

Your tarts look delicious!!!!

chocolatechic said...

These are just to cute for words.

I'm gonna be making mine for Christmas.

Quinn said...

Happy anniversary, Holly & Dusty!!! Those look AMAZING, btw! Gorgeous food pics, too! Yum! xoxo

Beth said...

Adorable!!! Happy Anniversary and thanks for baking along with me this week.

Sue said...

These look so good, and the minis are adorable! Happy Anniversary!

The Double Dipped Life said...

Congrats on the mention in the Daily Herald! I love that we share print space! Did you see it online? http://www.heraldextra.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/recipes/article_306d6c27-800d-5b81-9fa2-6a171db6e36e.html

Flourchild said...

This pie was the bomb! I L-O-V-E it! Your pies looks great!!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

happy anniversary! i'm making this pie for christmas dinner, so i'm glad to see an advance review-- looks good!!

Katy said...

oh my goodness...your mini pies are just adorable!! :) And Happy Anniversary!!

Erin said...

I love the mini pies! They look so good with the whipped cream on top!

Unknown said...

It's always fun to have your own cute pies. Nice job!

Lucie said...

These look so wonderful, I adore your blog. Best wishes, Lucie X

Lillian said...

Those are absolutely marvelous; I must find mini pie plates like that. And the pie is just about perfect, so the more often I can justify making it, the better! (And happy anniversary!)

Katrina said...

I made mini's too! Love how deep yours look! Yummy! Happy Anniversary and Merry Christmas!

Susan said...

Happy Anniversary! I love minis. I have mini tart pans and made a chocolate pecan tart using them. My pie, while delicious, didn't look so pretty. But we enjoyed it all the same.

Jules Someone said...

Yum! Those look just fabulous! Happy anniversary and very happy holidays!

TeaLady said...

Such cute little pies. I got some of those little pie pans and will use them real soon. Love the challenge of 1/2ing and 1/3ing the recipes.

Happy A.

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