Week 5: "Give Thanks" Pecan Pie Muffins

I might have played with the dolls, and I definitely have as much patriotic pride as anyone I know, but I'm really not your typical American Girl. I don't have much extended family in the US. I don't have any memories of "over the river and through the woods" and "grandmother's house," etc., and my holidays have always been a little "unorthodox." You know, hotpot, hot chocolate, and mahjong for Christmas; Peking duck (yum!) and football on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving pies and cranberry sauce are, thus, a bit of a "novelty" to me, and I'm always excited about turkey, stuffing, the whole nine yards (hooray for free and/or catered college campus Thanksgiving dinners!).

Which is why, in celebration of this Thanksgiving, I wanted to make these:

Pecan Pie Muffins

The recipe, to anyone who has never made pecan pie before, looks ridiculous. There are just five very basic, simple ingredients and an almost obscene amount of brown sugar and butter-- like a shot of delicious sinfulness straight to the arteries.

Of course, however, that is precisely the beauty and the nature of pecan pie, and it actually makes a lot of sense that its muffin derivative would be much the same.

Comments on-line complained of over-stickiness (and lost muffin!) and suggested sticking with mini-muffin tins. I, however, made them in regular-size muffin tins and didn't have too much trouble popping them out. I greased the tins with butter, then dusted with confectioner's sugar. This seemed to do the trick.

The muffins didn't rise much-- probably because the recipe doesn't call for much flour and contains neither baking soda nor baking powder-- and so perhaps looked a little on the small-ish and unattractive side. They were, however, as I recall, plenty rich, moist, and delicious, though a little too sweet to be a personal favorite. Nevertheless, most people were duly impressed, and quite a number of my friends declared that they were "even better than actual pecan pie!" I've gotten a lot of requests for another batch, which is always a great indicator of success.

And now, you can make them, too. I promise you, easy as... pie ;)

"Give Thanks" Recipe (Pecan Pie Muffins - UnModified; Recipe here, Courtesy of prissycat, AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (King Arthur's)
1 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease the muffin tin, then dust with confectioner's sugar. (This will help with the eventual removal of the muffins. You might also want to consider using a mini-muffin tin instead of a regular-sized one.)
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the brown sugar, flour, and pecans. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and eggs together until smooth. Stir the mixture into the dry ingredients just until combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Cups should be about 2/3 full.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

"Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash."
"But I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie... "