Pecan Pie Muffins
Pecan Pie Muffins are a mix between a pie and a muffin. They have a muffin texture with a soft gooey inside like a mini Southern pecan pie. This recipe is one of the highest used recipes during the fall especially for Thanksgiving!
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PECAN PIE MUFFINS
For a second, I had the idea of giving you guys a beautiful step by step tutorial on how to make the perfect Thanksgiving turkey. But quite frankly making a turkey is something I do once a year and I don’t have enough motivation to do it more than that.
The actual process of making a turkey isn’t that hard but if you screw up the bird, Thanksgiving is ruined. In my nightmare, I imagine everyone sitting around a huge table staring sadly at their empty plates and then at me.
Sooooo, instead I’m sharing some Pecan Pie Muffins that a reader Tammy sent me a long time ago. I want to call these Puffins because they’re pie/muffins. I felt like they were more pie than muffin but my husband felt the opposite.
These Pecan Pie Muffins are super easy to throw together with only five ingredients. Tammy swears if you just under-bake them, they really taste like a pecan pie and she’s right. They have crispy chewy edges and a soft gooey center.
If you’re scared of butter you should just walk away now. Just sayin’. The only way you can screw these up is to not properly grease your pan. Baker’s Joy spray works really well here. This can be dessert or breakfast.
HOW TO MAKE PECAN PIE MUFFINS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease mini or regular muffin cups generously.
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In a medium bowl, beat the butter and eggs together. Pecans should be about this size.
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- Stir in brown sugar, flour and pecans.
- Stir in dry ingredients just until combined.
- Spoon batter into muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 12-13 minutes for mini muffins or 15-17 minutes for regular size muffins.
- Run a knife around the edge of each muffin and pop it out.
THANKSGIVING RECIPES
- Classic Stuffing Recipe
- Green Bean Casserole
- Twice Baked Potatoes
- Heavenly Green Beans
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Corn Souffle
- Ruth’s Chris Sweet Potatoes
- Lion House Rolls
- Cranberry Sauce
OTHER PIE RECIPES
- Banana Cream Pie
- Peanut Butter Pie
- S’mores Pie
- Cherry Cheese Pie
- Boston Cream Pie
- Lemon Pie
- Peaches and Cream Pie
- Turtle Pie
- Nacho Pot Pie
- Pecan Pie Bars
Pecan Pie Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chopped pecans
- 2/3 cup butter, softened
- 2 eggs, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease mini or regular muffin cups generously. Grease them well or they will stick. In medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour and pecans. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and eggs together. Stir in dry ingredients just until combined.
- Spoon batter into muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 12-13 minutes for mini muffins or 15-17 minutes for regular size muffins. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin and pop it out.
Notes
I was just reading the comments and I making them right now should I add vanilla
Is it me, or is it you?
Batter tasted fine, although I was very suspicious of blending egg and butter without sugar or flour to bind the mixture.
Followed the directions . End result is kind of a gooey, half-baked, semi-muffin shaped ball of pecans, butter and sugar. Did not come out of the pan without a knife and prying, End result is nothing I would serve as a dessert or a muffin. I will have to find something else to serve tomorrow night. I might try crumbling and re-baking as a topping for ice cream. – some way to salvage this. We’ll see.
Where are the flavors? No vanilla or cinnamon
Have you tried them? You could definitely add those.
I tried it, but I used Swans Down cake flour…because I had it on hand. Perhaps that’s why mine failed! They were tasty, but dense and didn’t rise. I will try the recipe again using all purpose flour. I love butter… I use it in everything I bake, but w the natural oil and fat of the pecans, I will probably tweak the recipe and use 1/2 cup of butter instead of 2/3 cup! Either way I think it’s a great recipe worth trying again!
Thanks Donna. They don’t rise a ton even with all-purpose flour.
I believe their is an error in the recipe with the flour and pecan measurement. Should say 2 cups flour. 1/2 cup pecans ?
I made them according to the posted recipe plus I added 1 tsp of vanilla extract ….way to many nuts but the recipe was delicious
Sorry there is not a typo. That is correct. It’s a Pecan Pie recipe and so there is little flour and lots of pecans.
About how many mini muffins does this recipe make?
It depends but about 24
These are so easy to make. A big hit at the Church brunch. Moist and flavorful!
So happy to hear!
Instead of greasing the muffin tin could you use muffin liners?
sorry, I just saw the other posts on this subject
Try wax paper on the bottoms, like cake pan liners. Works well. Just run knife around the edge. Pops right out!
This sound delicious. Can’t wait to try the recipe. I’m wondering if you could use the paper cupcake liners? What do you think? 🤔
Yes, I think you could use liners.
These are wonderful – I have been making them for several years now and they are sooooo good! I also make them with GF flour sometimes (one inlaw has gluten sensitivity) and they still turn out great. I make them as mini muffins – you get all the taste of pecan pie but in bite-size servings (and with much less guilt!)….and personally I prefer the texture! Thanks so much for this recipe!
You are welcome!
Hi Caroline, could you share what GF flour has worked for you for this recipe? Thanks!
I made these and they are delicious !!!!will be making again !!!
Glad to hear that.
Just made these. They taste great, but even with my new nonstick mini muffin pan and lots of spray they stuck. I was hoping to put these on my cookie tray, but will use them as a crumbly topping on ice cream or as a streusel.
Shoot. I’ve never had issues with them sticking so I’m not sure what happened.
I grew up in Texas and Pecan pie is a must! This captures the flavor with minimal work and time! I had a hard time getting them out under cooked (gooey) and in one piece. Silicone liners fixed the problems for me!
Thanks for the input!
When you say makes 8 muffins I’m assuming you mean regular size?
Yes, 8 regular size muffins.
I haven’t made them yet because it is late at night and I just just found the recipe. My daughter has dairy issues and wanted me to ask if we might use canola oil instead of the butter? I myself wouldn’t need normally substitute, but I try to try to bake considering her not being able to have dairy.
Thank you and when I do make them I will be back with review. They sound amazing!!
I haven’t made this recipe, but I‘ve used refined(aka- no coconut flavor) coconut oil in place of butter in other recipes(just since it’s 1/4 of the price where I live) and had it turn out great… I don’t usually get the same results with canola in my baked goods, I feel like the canola changes the taste in some things that I’ve used it in. If I make these today, I’ll try with coconut oil and let you know how they turn out 🙂
Thanks let us know.
Has anyone successfully tried a sugar substitute? I figure the molasses in the brown sugar is what makes it gooey and taste like a pecan pie, but thought I’d ask anyways 🙂
Joy filled eats(or Briana Thomas, I forget which) has a great brown sugar substitute that uses molasses 🙂 I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I’m very excited to after trying her pumpkin cheesecake bars!!!
Oh my goodness – why would I ever make pecan pie again!! My husband said they are “crazy good” this is a keeper. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
You are welcome!
OMG!!! These are fabulous! My husband and I are trying to eat Gluten Free and Dairy Free. So I just tried your recipe using a GF all-purpose flour and a DF butter. I used 1:1 ingredients. I don’t think we are missing any of the taste or texture. I felt like I was eating my favorite pecan pie, but BETTER! Oh also, I do not like using muffin tins because I can never get muffins out (I’m sure it’s me) so I put these in a pan and cooked for a few minutes longer. Perfection!
I did use eggs, as we do not have issues with eggs. But dairy butter bothers us. Pleased that the DF butter worked great!
Yayyyyyy!
I made these today and they were wonderful!!!
Glad you liked them!
Hi
Only 1/2 cup flour?
Yes!
We like these better than pecan pie, if that’s possible!!
It’s possible!
Loved these- 5 ingredients and I had them all on hand. They are a little crumbly but I think next time I will make sure to use a fresh bag of brown sugar instead of the last of one.
Glad you liked them.
How can I store these, a couple days ahead?….we have a “brunch table” at church for in between Sunday School and church service. I’d rather not have to bake right before I get ready for church.
After completely cooled you can place these in a freezer bag and freeze up to a month. Just thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
I’ve made this recipe a bunch of times and it’s been a hit!
I have a question though, can I keep the mixture in the fridge until I’m ready to bake them?
I haven’t tried making the batter ahead of time so I can’t be sure.
Since there is no baking soda or powder, you should be able to make ahead. You would probably need to adjust cooking time if you bake them straight from the fridge though.
Delicious Christy! Thank you for the recipe! I usually save my recipes on pinterest but I this one will be saved and printed!! I don’t want to lose this one!!😊
Awesome! Thank you!!
Tried this! Really delicious and simple to make. To give it a little extra I added vanilla flavoring. Can’t make a pecan pie without the vanilla flavoring 😊
True. True!!
Can’t you just use cupcake paper liners?
Yes, you can!
These muffins are so good! For a little Christmas fruitcake flavor, I added some of the candied fruit. My husband absolutely loves them…and so do I! Merry Christmas!
ooh what a festive addition!
These pecan pie muffins are wonderful! I make them at least once a week! Easy easy❤️
So glad you enjoy them that much!
ABSOLUTELY the MOST YUMMIEST muffin!!!! My husband and I are not pecan pie fans, except for the Chocolate Pecan Pie. Came across this recipe because I had an abundance of fresh pecans from our wonderful neighbors. This muffin was so yummy, my husband ate two right away!!! My skinny, picky sister, gobbled one and took my last one home with her. This recipe is so easy and with ingredients I always have on hand. Thanks so much for sharing!!! Now I’m about to share with my wonderful neighbors😁
I love hearing that!
Success! I read all comments and took some tips, mainly Cindy’s. I threw in accidental tweaks…pie plate, doubled the recipe, and only 1 cup butter rather than 1 and 1/2 cup butter, only because I ran out of butter and my cupcake pan didnt seem very nonstick. I sprayed with olive oil. End result, perfection! A little crumbly when sliced but mostly intact. My pecan pie lovers approved! Thank you for your recipe and everyone’s comments.
Made these to try for Thanksgiving and the outcome was phenomenal. The taste is amazing and much less work and ingredients than pecan pie!! Highly recommend
Thanks for your feedback!
Made mini muffins, got 36 total, excellent recipe, followed instructions and had no problems at all. Using baking spray popped these little delicious suckers right out of pans. Definitely great recipe and find.
Awesome! I love that you enjoyed them.
So I was so excited to make these and did. That had an amazing taste except I used mini muffin pan and looked at baking time for this size which was 15-17 minutes. As always I set timer for less time just in case! I always air in the side I’d underbaking. I can always add a minute. So set timer for 13 minutes. There was absolutely no gooey pie like center at all. Actually they were completely too done. Baked at 350. Next time I will do 10 minutes and hope for gooey center! They had a great taste though.
Deb, yes all ovens cook differently so it’s wise to know your oven and maybe check it earlier.
Greased the hell out of the pan. Muffins stuck anyway. So disappointing to spend time on a recipe that you can’t get out of the pan.
The part I dug out with a spoon had a flat, one dimension sweetness. I did not like these.
Sorry yours stuck. You might need a new better non-stick pan.
My Mom’s favorite dessert is pecan pie. She is unable to chew crust, nuts, etc and in the nursing home her food is a mechanical soft type. I’ve been searching for a recipe that I could make to substitute for her favorite pie. This is so much appreciated. I ground the pecans and baked as instructed. Remember to not exceed baking time so that the center caves a bit and is soft and gooey like a pecan pie. So simple and so appreciated.
Ooh sounds delicious! Glad you liked it.
These were delicious!! I added a little vanilla, cinnamon, and a couple more tbsp of flour. The kids (and me) loved them. So quick and easy. I will be saving this recipe for potlucks.
Yum! Love that!
Yum!! Can’t wait to try these!
I hope you love them!
Made these today for the couple I work for. They loved them!! (I don’t eat pecans) Huge hit!!
I’m so glad to hear that!
I just made a paleo version of these and they’re delicious!!
Ooh yum!
Hi! Do you recommend to mix the ingredientes with a spatula or with a mixer??
I just do it by hand.
How many muffins does this recipe make? (How many cups do I need to butter? 😊)
About 6 regular muffins!
Just made these. So easy & soooo yummy 😋
Will definitely make them again. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
You’re welcome!
I made these a few times and they are sooooo good!! The only problem I have is not using enough grease to keep them from sticking. I will bake these again over and over!!! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
These are absolutely delicious; but I had a hard time getting them out of the muffin tin even though I had greased it throughly. Still – I’m going to try again!
Yes, you definitely have to grease them very well.
I was snowed in and wanted to make these. I did not have pecans so I used walnuts. I did not have quite enough walnuts so I filled the rest with mini chocolate chips. They were amazing! I did have to add a couple of minutes to the baking time.
These looked and sounded so good! NOT. Used mini muffin pan & papers. They ALL sunk in the middle but first run over the edges onto the pan. Nice flavor but if I ever try them again will add more flour as I am almost at 7,000 ft. altitude where most recipes need more flour.
These were not only super easy they were super delicious! They are so much easier than making a pie and they are portable to eat on the run.
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. Trying to recreate autumn while I’m living here in Singapore. These were as easy a muffin as you can make. They were absolutely delicious. Chewy on the edges and soft in the middle. Not cake-like. More like a muffin meets a cookie. Tasted just like pecan pie but not so overpoweringly sweet. I must admit while they were baking I had my doubts as the butter seemed to be bubbling a lot, but leaving them another 2 minutes, they came out perfect. They didn’t stick at all (after greasing the cups well) and flipped them onto a cooling rack right away. I will definitely make again.
Ooh thank you Jeanne!
I have made the pecan pie muffins and absolutely love them so does my family I have made these a number of times great recipe!!!
Thank you!
Do these freeze well?
Yes!!
Well this is my second time making these in a week, my fiancé absolutely loves them! I added a pinch of salt and drizzled caramel over them! Absolutely fantastic!! Thank you for sharing this!!
Ooh yum!
Made these muffins, twice. Super easy and absolutely delicious!!!
So glad you loved them!
These are delicious!! I ate three of them while they were still hot. We doubled the recipe and baked them a little longer. Thanks!!
So glad you liked it!
Just baked these and couldn’t resist them. These are delish! My husband is a huge fan of pecan pie and I know he will love them.
Thank you! I love them!
I am excited about trying these.
Hope you love them!
gonna make these for Valentine’s day presents. Thanks
Good luck!
I made these with cassava flour as am on a gluten free diet. They turned out absolutely delicious. Now I wonder if I can cut down the amount of sugar and use 1/2 sugar 1/2 xylitol????
Sorry was confused, it wasn’t you but a person posting your stuff.
Just got these out of the oven for my husband to take to his weekly Saturday breakfast with “the guys”, and I have to say, they are delicious!! Gooey center is amazing! Although, I think I will cut down on the butter just a bit next time….they are a little greasy….but still delish!! I think the guys will love them!!
Thanks for the feedback!
Looks so yummy! This may be a dumb question and I’m not sure if you already addressed it but how do you store these muffins? I’m thinking of making them the day before thanksgiving but not sure if I have to put them in the fridge after baking and then warm them up again on thanksgiving day. Or can they stay out at room temperature? If so, how do you store them and for how long? Thanks in advance!
To be honest with you I would store them at room temperature but I think technically you should refrigerate them if you want to be on the safe side. You can definitely make the day before.
Thanks!
I’ve tried these muffins twice and they are fantastic. I also added a half cup of chocolate chips and they are great.
Why did I never think to add chocolate chips!
Only a half a cup of flour? Is that correct?
Yes, it’s correct. It’s to give it that pecan pie filling texture but the little bit of flour adds a little structure.
Just had these at a party and they were delicious! Now I have a comment & a question before I try these on my own! Comment: you don’t have pecan halves for the top listed in the ingredients but the pictures show it. Question: At what point do you add the pecan half to the top? Thanks!
I actually added them after to pretty them up a bit. If you want them to actually stick though you could put them on before baking.
Awesome thanks! Someone in my office mentioned maybe cooking them part of the way and then topping them with the pecan so it wouldn’t burn. I guess I’ll have to experiment! 😉
That sounds smart.
Made these and put half cup coconut….OMGooodnessss ..yummmyyy
Why didn’t I think of that?
Made these on a whim this afternoon and am still in awe at how awesome and easy they are! So good, in fact, my son suggested I open a bakery – lol! All I had on hand was praline pecans (which I can only imagine gave these an extra touch of incredible richness.) This will definitely be a go-to recipe from now on. Thanks so much!
Um yes. Holy richness. I would totally dig it.
These look delicious! Would almond flour work, you think?
I’m not sure since I’ve never tried it.
I wish I had thought about this recipe more, instead of jumping into the kitchen because I knew I had all the ingredients. They taste exactly like what they are; light brown sugar, butter & pecans. My suggestion would be: bake a pecan pie or find a good basic pecan muffin recipe. I think this mash-up recipe missed the mark.
Made these used Splenda brown sugar, as hubby is a diabetic. Everyone ate them within 5 minutes of taking them out of the oven. They are so easy to make, but are probably one of the more expensive muffins to make. Pecans are expensive, so next time I will hide them from the kids😁
I know. Darn pecans. Like gold right?
I made these gluten free, sugar free and they are addicting. It’s like a pecan pie.
Sounds great!
Oh my, these are so good. Just made them. I was hoping not to gain a ton of weight with this pregnancy but it’s all over now. Really, really, good.
Haha. Sorry!!
Baker buddies, tried this recipe. Use the mini muffin pan. Bake about 10 minutes if it is a convection oven. I had also used 1/2c butter by mistake so baked for 11min. Worked perfect. Just like she says, run a butter knife and it slides out clean. I just used the butter wrapper for greasing the non stick pan. Yes, two cups pecans work well. I think, I am going to use one stick butter for this. It holds up really well and didn’t have to worry about overbaking.
Thanks for your feedback!
I have used this recipe for years for mini sweet and savory sandwiches. Slice in half horizontally, spread each side with Poupon, fill with ham and small slice lettuce, secure with a tooth pick. One time I didn’t serve these at my annual Christmas party and there was nearly a mutiny. Everyone demanded they return to the menu next year!
Wow. What a cool idea! I would never think of that.
These were spectacular and devilishly sinful. Plus incredibly easy, made with things I keep in the cupboard. I think I had muffins in roughly 30 minutes, probably less.
Has anyone tried these by taking the chopped pecans down to small pieces? Does it mess up the structure? The only complaint was they were hard for my elderly mother to eat with all the nut pieces, so much so she told me to just leave them out next time. Ummm…not going to work!
Thank you for this incredibly good recipe! Printed for my book!
I think it would work with them chopped finely.
I did chop them tiny and it tastes really good! Maybe you can do a few with almost ground up pecans for your Mom!
I made these and they turned out wonderfully! However, I am the only one in my family that is a fan of pecans… how long do you think they would keep if stored in an air-tight container?
I think they would keep up to a week.
Can you freeze them….in case there are any left to freeze!
I made the pecan pie muffins for the first time the other day for my daughter to take to work. They were delicious!!! I rarely eat anything I bake but I loved these. I did have some trouble getting some of them out of the pan though. I had read where she said to spray a lot so I did. Still had trouble. Think next time I might try making them in a mini pan. They are so rich a regular sized one is a lot.
Glad you enjoyed them! They are rich which is why I like them!
I am new to your site, but those pecan muffins look scrumptious….and EASY! Our grandsons ages 9 & 11, are out of school for the holidays. They love to help me cook/bake. So this is what we will do tomorrow!!
I made these with a gluten free all purpose flour mix and they turned out so good my MIL ate all 4 that I gave her and I ate the other 4 in one evening. She is really particular so that is quite a compliment. Great recipe and it will be a staple for my church and family pot lucks.
Thank you!
Are you sure this recipe is correct? I made it like it said, but they did not turn out at all like shown. The flour sugar amounts do not seem right?
Yes. It’s correct. What happened?
A facebook friend posted these in an Unleavened group, which shares recipes that are unleavened for Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread. Everyone might be thinking Thanksgiving for these muffins, but I assure you they are good any time. I baked a double batch for some neighbors who had company as well as my other neighbors, and yes, I kept a few for myself, but truly…I thank God I was giving them away or I would have eaten them all!
So the wife of my neighbors who had company called me to thank me for the muffins and she said “John ate them all!”, meaning her husband. I guess some things came up with the company and they were not there and missed out, lol. They tried to save them, but the longer they delayed…she said her husband would say “I’m havin’ another one”. She said she and her husband had called family over the weekend and both times her husband mentioned the neighbor who brought over these muffins which he described in detail over the phone and both times the men on the other end of the line responded “ooooooh”. I laughed.
She said her husband then dipped his chin and looked at her over the top of his glasses and said “You have GOT to get this recipe.” Yeah, they are that good. I made some as mini muffins and some as regular sized. Both were great, someone said that they key is to just bake them a titch underdone, which is what I did.
They were amazing. Done on the outside but like gooey pecan pie on the inside. Also, I used coconut oil to grease the muffin cups really well, and that worked great.
I tried them they turned out lovely, I added ts cinnamon and half ts vanilla extract.
I tried these this weekend, they were great. I did change the recipe a little, added bout an 1/8 cup milk & used a small & a medium egg. Seved hot with cold vanilla ice cream & u got heaven in ur mouth
Earplugs in Silicone Earplugs group in instance comfort is
concern number one and you need to block out light to
modest noise degree.