There are 2 extremely important holidays coming up this weekend – almost as important as Christmas – Cinco de Mayo and The Kentucky Derby! Two holidays where funny hats are strongly encouraged and margharitas and mint juleps flow like water.
Smile! You have a funny hat on!
I’ve never been a big horse race type of gal, but I love the fact that for the Kentucky Derby, people from all over the world get all gussied up in their Kentucky Derby best for an event that goes by so fast, that you could miss it while you’re in the bathroom (or in line for your 6th mint julep).
Another thing that I love about it, is it’s namesake dessert: Kentucky Derby pie. Kind of like a big chocolate chip cookie in a pie crust. Mmmmm. I’ve never made it before, but decided that it was time that I pay some homage to those big strong horses and 4-foot jockeys that work so hard all year to give us a reason to drink cocktails and wear funny hats in the mud.
And I decided to make them mini – then maybe you won’t feel so bad about eating a few of them 🙂
Mini Kentucky Derby Chocolate Chip Cookie Pies
(From the Southern queen of dessert herself, Ms. Paula Deen)
INGREDIENTS
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels, melted plus and extra 1/2 cup for drizzle
1 cup sifted self-rising flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chopped pecans
4 unbaked regular pie shells
(I used the pillsbury – don’t judge, homemade crust is ambitious for a week night – there are 2 crusts to a box)
Ice cream, optional
(well that’s what Paula says – I say MANDATORY)
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) For the crust – Lay out the pie crust on a flat surface and find a cookie cutter or something with about a 5″ diamater to cut the mini crusts (I used a dip bowl that we had, but you could use a wine glass or even a margharita glass since those are a little wider – as long as it’s somewhere between 4 and 5″ in diameter and lines the entire inside of the muffin cup.) Cut crusts and line them in the muffin tins, trimming the excess dough around the edges.
3) For the filling: Combine eggs, sugar, and melted chocolate in large bowl. Add flour and mix well – then stir in remaining ingredients (butter, vanilla and pecans).
4) Place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture into the pie crusts, so they’re just about half-way full. The mixture will rise a lot while cooking so 2 tbsps. will bring it just to the top of the pie crusts. If it starts to rise too much, just poke a little hole in the center while they are baking – this will cause them to ‘deflate’ a little bit.
5) Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick/knife comes out clear.
6) Let cool for about 10 minutes, then drizzle with the remaining melted chocolate chips and pecans if you have any extra lying around! (clearly I did not)
7) Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
The reason that I say 4 pie crusts is because it makes a LOT of filling – so much so that I am bringing these to work, because I did so much ‘sampling’ that my stomach hurts. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it right?
Happy Kentucky Derby weekend everyone! Thanks Paula!
She loves it!
1 comment
Hi How many of these mini pies does this recipe make ?
Comments are closed.