Pecan Pie Muffins

By
Kristina Vanni
Kristina Vanni
Kristina Vanni
An internationally recognized culinary authority, Kristina Vanni is well-known for her recipe development, food photography, and experience as a TV show host.
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Updated on 06/23/21
Pecan Pie Muffins

Kristina Vanni 

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 35 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Yield: 12 muffins

Who said pecan pies are only for the fall? If you enjoy the sweet crunch of the classic dessert, you'll love them as a muffin that can be eaten any time.

The base of the muffins is a cinnamon-scented batter. They're then topped with a thick layer of pecan pie crumble. To make the irresistible topping, flour, brown sugar, and more cinnamon are cut with cold butter, then tossed with chopped pecans. The result is a beautiful muffin with a tall dome of crumble. Now you can enjoy the experience of a pecan pie at breakfast time any day of the year.

Ingredients

For the Muffins:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 large egg

  • 3/4 cup heavy cream

  • 3/4 cup milk

  • 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the Crumble:

  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

  • 1 pinch salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

  • 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Pecan Pie Muffins ingredients
    Kristina Vanni

  2. Butter the wells of a 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper liners. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  

    stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt
    Kristina Vanni 

  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, cream, milk, and butter until well blended.

    whisk together the egg, cream, milk, and butter
    Kristina Vanni 

  4. Stir the cream mixture into the flour mixture until batter is just combined. The dry ingredients should be moistened, but not overmixed.

    Stir the cream mixture
    Kristina Vanni 

  5. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. 

    Divide the batter
    Kristina Vanni 

  6. In a small bowl, combine the 1/3 cup flour, brown sugar, and pinch of salt. 

    combine the 1/3 cup flour, brown sugar, and pinch of salt
    Kristina Vanni 

  7. Add the cold butter and cut until crumbly. 

    cold butter and cut
    Kristina Vanni

  8. Add the chopped pecans.

    chopped pecans
    Kristina Vanni

  9. Sprinkle the pecan pie crumble topping over the muffin batter.

    pecan pie crumble topping
    Kristina Vanni

  10. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the muffins are pale golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool.

    Bake
     Kristina Vanni

  11. Serve and enjoy!

Tips

  • A well-made crumb topping should be firm yet tender, and chewy, with big chunks. The best way to achieve this is to use cubes of cold butter. Butter that is softened to room temperature or melted butter will cause the crumb topping to spread out and flatten when it bakes.
  • There are several different ways to chop nuts for this recipe and others. If you need a small amount, using a large chef's knife is best. Simply rock the blade across the nuts until you have reached the desired size. For even, consistent results an old-fashioned hand-operated nut grinder works wonders. For chopping large amounts of nuts, a food processor works wonders. Pulse 1 cup at at time, removing each batch along the way. To avoid overprocessing into a nut butter, add a few tablespoons of the flour or sugar in the recipe into the processor.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
298 Calories
15g Fat
37g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 298
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 19%
Saturated Fat 8g 38%
Cholesterol 49mg 16%
Sodium 241mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 37g 13%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 18g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 113mg 9%
Iron 2mg 8%
Potassium 94mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)