Mini Salted Rosemary Rum Pecan Pies

5 from 14 votes

Sweet, salty, a little herbal and a little boozy, these Paleo-friendly pies are the perfect one-bite treats. Try to make them a day head if possible (explained below).

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: pies

Calories: 115kcal

Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

Crust

⅓ cup cooking fat, like avocado oil or melted and cooled coconut oil
3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla
2¼ cups blanched fine almond flour (not almond meal, must be blanched)
heaping ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Filling

¼ cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1 tablespoon melted and cooled ghee or coconut oil
1 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (do NOT use dried)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Also:

⅔ cup pecan halves, toasted and cooled
approx. 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Instructions

Make the crust:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease each muffin cup if necessary (I used silicone pans so I didn't grease mine and they released just fine).
In a large bowl, whisk the oil, honey/maple syrup and vanilla. Set a sieve over the bowl and sift in the almond flour and salt. Blend until combined. The texture should be like wet sand - when you squeeze a small amount in your hand it should clump together.
Using a spoon or small scoop, add 1 packed tablespoon of dough to each mini muffin cup. Keep a glass of water nearby and dip your two index fingers in to get a little wet, then use your fingers to press the dough down and up the side of the cups up to the top. Dip your fingers in the water for every 1-2 crusts.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, swapping and rotating the pans every 5 minutes, until the tops of the crusts are golden brown. Remove from the oven.

While the crusts are baking, make the filling:

In a medium bowl, whisk the filling ingredients until they're well blended. As it sits, you might notice a yellow layer form on top (whether you use coconut oil or ghee). This is normal - just whisk again to blend.
When the crusts are done (you don't have to wait for them to cool), add a pecan half to each cup. Spoon 1.5-2 tsp. of the filling into each cup almost, but not quite, up to the top of the crust.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, rotating and swapping the pans every 5 minutes, until the filling is set.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle each with a smidge of flaky sea salt and let cool completely before popping them out of the pans.

Notes

All your ingredients should be at room temperature. If your eggs and maple syrup are not, submerge them in a bowl of very warm water for 10 minutes (the syrup only needs to be about halfway in the water).

You can make both the crust and the filling up to 5 days in advance, kept in the fridge. For the crust, form it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and then store in a ziplock bag or airtight container. Bring both to room temperature before using.

If the dough is too dry and crumbly, blend in more oil 1 teaspoon at a time. If it's too watery, blend in more almond flour 1 tablespoon at a time.

Each mini muffin pan is different. Your cups might be slightly deeper or shallower than mine, so the amount of filling might range from 1.5 to 2 teaspoons or even more. Also, your pans might cook the crusts and the pies faster or slower, so you'll have to adjust the baking time accordingly.

If for some reason you try to pop out a pie and it sticks or breaks apart, don't despair! Put the whole pan of pies in the freezer for at least 6 hours or overnight. When you slide a thin, sharp knife between the crust and pan (possibly having to slide the knife around the entire circumference of each crust), they should pop out easily. You can then put them back in the freezer loose in an airtight bag or container to save for later or let them thaw to enjoy that day.

Nutrition