Pecan Pie Cupcakes

PECAN PIE CUPCAKES

What you’ll need for the filling:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

4 tablespoons flour

2/3 cup light corn syrup

1/3 cup dark corn syrup

2 tablespoon honey

2 eggs (room temp)

6 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)

1 teaspoon rum extract

2/3 cup chopped pecans

 What you’ll need for the brown sugar cupcakes:

1 1/3  cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup finely chopped pecans

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon rum extract

1/2 cup milk with scant tbsp vinegar (Makes sour milk. Milk may curdle. It’s okay. 🙂

TO PREPARE PECAN PIE FILLING:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a wooden spoon, stir together liquid ingredients in a 9×12 casserole dish until well blended. Stir in sugar and flour. Stir in pecans. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring gently half way through baking. Filling may have a crust form over the top when it’s done.  I stirred until it was smooth again, and then continued stirring throughout cooling process to avoid crust forming and to avoid it setting up.

While pecan pie filling is baking and cooling, begin the brown sugar cupcakes.

TO PREPARE BROWN SUGAR CUPCAKES:

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, finely chopped pecans, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl combine sugars and butter together on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and rum extracts and beat until combined. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in the 2nd and 3rd additions, beating on low speed until just combined.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling 1/2 full. (I used aluminum foil wrappers and the cupcake tended to stick to them making it just a little difficult to unwrap.  Not sure if a different type of wrapper would work better.)  Gently put a tablespoon scoop of pre-baked pecan pie filling on each cupcake. Bake 20 minutes or until a golden crust forms on the edges of the cupcake.  Cupcake will be very moist, but rest assured it will take at least 20 minutes to bake.I used the touch method to see if they were done.  (Push the top. If it springs back…or comes back up at all…it’s probably done.)

Like I mentioned, these were very good and moist and may not need icing, however, I had some filling left over and thought it would be good in some buttercream icing.  I really like Wilton’s Buttercream Icing Recipe, so I made some up and added the icing to the pecan pie filling until I had a ratio I was happy with.  I topped each cupcake with a dollup of icing and garnished with a whole pecan.