Pecan Pie Muffins

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 32 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

Satisfy two cravings in one by combining two iconic baked goods: pecan pie and muffins. When you marry the fluffiness of a muffin with the chewiness of pecan pie filling, the results are pretty irresistible. Clocking in at just eight ingredients with a dump-and-stir method, there are no crusts to roll out or blind baking to do.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups pecan halves (about 6 ounces), plus 12 pecan halves for garnish
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons bourbon (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-well muffin tin with paper liners.
Finely chop 1 1/2 cups pecan halves and place in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Whisk until well combined.
Melt 3 sticks unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add 3 large eggs, 2 tablespoons bourbon if using, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and whisk until combined. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Divide the batter between the wells of the muffin tin (they will be very full). Top each muffin with a pecan half.
Bake until the muffins are golden-brown and a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and let the muffins cool for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan to the wire rack to cool completely.