LITTLE PECAN PIES RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F. From 1 box Pillsbury™ refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box, unroll 1 crust on work surface. Use 3-inch round cutter to cut 8 rounds, and place on outsides of cups of upside-down nonstick mini muffin pan, skipping every other one. Repeat with second crust.
• Bake about 8 minutes or until golden. Cool 5 minutes; remove shells from pan to cooling rack to cool completely.
• In 2-quart saucepan, mix 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1 1/4 cups water. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon salted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 1/2 cups pecan halves, chopped. Cool 10 minutes.
• Fill each shell with cooled pecan mixture; top each with pecan half. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and serve within 3 days.

Steps:

• 1. Sieve your flour and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl from a height.
  2. Chop the butter into cubes, then using your fingertips, gently work it the flour and sugar until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (or pulse it in a food processor).
  3. Finely grate in the orange zest (if using) or halve, scrape out and add the seeds from the vanilla pod (if using). Mix again.
  4. Beat the egg with the milk, then add the mixture and gently work it together until it forms a ball of dough. Remember not to work the pastry too much at this stage or it will become elastic and chewy, not crumbly and short.
  5. Sprinkle a little flour over the dough, pat into a flat round about 2.5cm thick, then srinkle over a little more flour, and wrap the dough in clingfilm. Pop it into the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
  6. Get yourself a 25cm non-stick loose-bottomed tart tin and, using a splash of vegetable oil on a piece of kitchen paper, lightly oil the inside.
  7. Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour, then carefully roll out your pastry, turning it every so often, until it’s about ½cm thick.
  8. Carefully roll your pastry around the rolling pin, then unroll it carefully over your oiled tin. Ease the pastry into the tin, making sure you push it into all the sides.
  9. Trim off any excess by running a knife along the top of the pastry case, then prick the base of the case all over with a fork and pop it into the freezer for 30 minutes.
  10. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
  11. Get yourself a large square piece of greaseproof paper, scrunch it up, then unwrap it and use it to line your pastry case, pushing it right into the sides. Fill the case right up to the top with rice, and bake blind for 10 minutes in your preheated oven.
  12. Take the case out, carefully remove the rice and greaseproof paper (you can save the rice to use for blind baking another time), then return the case to the oven to cook for a further 10 minutes until it’s firm and almost biscuit-like. Leave to cool.