I first posted this recipe back in October of 2008. It’s been a family favorite for quite a long time! I came back and updated the photos in October of 2017. Hope you get to make it soon!
These decadently rich muffins have all the flavors and smells of a freshly baked Pecan Pie in muffin form. They are a beloved fall treat and perfect for breakfast, coffee breaks, church potlucks, or any other excuse you can come up with to make them!
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To visit with me a spell, keep reading.
I hope my mother doesn’t read this post anytime soon. See, she has this cookbook that she uses. She has used it for years and years. She writes everything down in it and pulls it down for just about every meal she makes.
Well, I’m writing a food site now and as you can imagine, I wanted a good long gander at that cookbook. So, I finally talked her into letting me borrow it one weekend while she was going out of town on a quilting retreat. I had to basically swear on my life and the beloved memory of Howdy Doody that no harm would befall it. So I did – and I got it (and I still haven’t given it back!).
Now folks, my mother is a note taker, a serious note taker. She has this insane need to write down everything. This was handy as a child because there was ALWAYS a notebook somewhere in the house that had a page with your name on it and beneath that, every blessed thing you were getting for Christmas, right down to the stocking stuffers! This is also handy because thanks to this insane need of hers, I know all about this recipe!
This recipe is one that has long been talked about among Mama’s quilting group. Susie, one of our absolute favorite Yankees who mistakenly let it slip once that she and her husband used to refer to us as “magnolia mouths” in private – which we thought was a pretty darn cool term and have loved her ever since, is the one who introduced us to the wonders of a pecan pie muffin.
Oh, another sidenote (because you know how I love sidenotes), Susie is the absolute, end all, cleanest and most organized person on earth. Seriously. Martha Stewart would cower in shame if she saw Susie’s house. It is decorated perfectly and always looks like a Southern Living showroom, right down to the fresh flowers. Whats more, its always like that! You can drop in any time of day, any day of the year to find Susie’s house miraculously looking even better than it did the last time you saw it. I have no idea how she does it. However, I do know that I am absolutely not capable in any capacity of being the housekeeper that she is.
BUT
I can make her muffins and if I try, I bet I can even say her husband’s name with that cute accent of hers….”Baab” (Bob).
You will need: Brown sugar, all purpose flour, eggs, butter, and pecans. I use dark brown sugar because I like a stronger flavor but you can use light or dark, whichever you prefer or have on hand.
Place Brown Sugar, Flour, and chopped Pecans in a bowl. Stir this up until it’s mixed up good.
Beat eggs in a bowl with a wire whisk until just foamy. Stir in cooled butter and beat again to combine.
Make sure your butter is melted and cooled. We don’t want it hot enough to cook the eggs.
Pour the butter and egg mixture into your dry mixture. Mix all of that up with a spoon until just moistened.
Look at that! It smells and tastes like pecan pie at this point.
Grease your muffin tin well (I used cooking spray) and if you use muffin papers, you still need to spray them.
Make sure you don’t skip this step and note that you are spraying either the tin OR the papers, whatever you use has to be sprayed.
Fill cups 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until done.
OOOh how pretty!
Ring the bell and watch the stampede. Oh my goodness, are these ever good! If you want something different in a muffin, if you want a real treat, if you want to pamper yourself, EAT THESE!
Printable recipe below!
Pecan Pie Muffins
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 9 muffins
Ingredients
- 1 Cup chopped pecans
- 1 Cup brown sugar
- ½ Cup all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- ½ Cup butter or margarine, melted
Instructions
- Combine first three ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Beat eggs until foamy. Stir together eggs and butter; add to dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened.
- Place baking cups in muffins pans and coat with cooking spray. Spoon batter into cups, filling ⅔ full.
- Bake at 350 for twenty to twenty five minutes or until done. remove from pans immediately.
Notes
Note that you are spraying either the tin OR the papers with cooking spray before adding your batter, whatever you use has to be sprayed.
Thank you so much for reading SouthernPlate!
Know someone with a nut allergy? Try my Faux Pecan pie recipe!
Yum 
I have a friend that makes these in a mini-muffin pan. They are just one or two bites and absolutely delicious. She always brings these when our professional organization has an event where there are snacks. Yummy!
Great idea I will do this.
Can these muffins be made with Splenda? How much of the brown sugar can be subbed with Splenda?
I use Splenda in some of my baked goods. Not yet muffins like this that own more weight than a blueberry, but what can it hurt? It will certainly taste the same, yet may not look so alike. Trivia is also ok to use.
I use Splenda Blend in my pecan pie muffins. They turn out very good.
I was wondering the same thing as the other person. Can you substitute Splenda?
Hey Jo and Christy!
I wish I could tell you that you could but unfortunately, Splenda isn’t the best thing on earth to bake with. Substituting it in baked goods requires you experiment with extra wet ingredients and even then you will most likely have a tenderness issue with your final product. However, I’m sure there is always a way to modify, but it will likely take some trial and error (and I hate the error part as much as the next person!).
Splenda is a great substitute for “wet” recipes such as custards, puddings, pie fillings, etc. I use it in my Homemade Banana pudding and sweet potato casseroles, in addition to most pies.
I wish I had better news!!
Thank you for reading though!!!
Gratefully,
Christy 🙂
Thank you for letting me know!! I need to go out and get some sugar now (only had Splenda!) Maybe I’ll do half and half as I’m diabetic and don’t want too much sugar, but love this recipe! 😉
These are fantastic!
I did however tweak the recipe with 1/2 tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Just to help them “rise” a bit, but it isn’t necessary.
YUMM-O!!! That’s really all I need to say…This is definitely a keeper. They were delicious!!!
U just made these with oats instead of nuts, and they came out perfectly! I also blogged about them. Thanks for a great recipe!
http://www.mangiodasola.com/2010/01/oatmeal-pie-muffins.html
thank you so much for blogging about them! they look delicious. I appreciate the link back and the comment, but especially the neat new idea!
I LOVE your suggestion of using oats in place of nuts (my son has life threatening allegies to all NUTS) In all my 16 years of dealing with nut allergy this is the first time I saw this idea! Thank you!!!!!! HuGs~!
You are so welcome Carmell, I hope he likes them!!! ~HUGS~
Christy,
I had these muffins at our Sunday School Goodie Sunday and asked a lady what she called them, came home and typed it in the browser and picked your recipe. They are soooo good and taste just like the ones I wanted!! Thanks for sharing!
Lori
Chrisi, This is one recipe I almost, but not quite, really wish I hadn’t found! They are sooooo delicious, easy and quick to make, and they disappear so quickly! Everyone loves them and I have to share the recipe with everyone I give the muffins to:)
I can’t make just one batch at a time, have to make at least 4 batches at a time and make them all in mini muffins.
These are keepers, for sure!
OH! MY! GOSH!!!! I just made these after a friend turned me on to them and 7your site. These are just evil, evil, EVIL good! Thanks so much for stealing your mom’s cookbook and posting this recipe! This is going in my “keeper” pile!!!!
Christy,
I just made these muffins for a treat for my hubbie. Are the centers supposed to be a little gooey? They tasted perfect, and I baked them for 25 minutes. Just thought I’d ask. I’m not sure if I should’ve baked them a little longer.
Thanks.
How do you alter the cooking time for mini muffin pans?
I use mini muffin pans all the time. It takes 20 – 25 minutes to bake…on 350*
Silly Question…..all I keep on hand is self rising flour. Can I use that? How will they affect the muffins? Thanks a bunch:))))
It seems that a lot of us are baking the same muffins these days! They are soooo good! My family loves them!
I have had this recipe a while, a friend gave it to me, these were soooo good!
I just made these again for the second time, this time I used self rising flour and land o lakes margarine (sticks) and I just knew I was going to mess these up, but, they were even better than the first time when I actually used the right ingredients, they were just way to good!
I am so glad they turned out great Vicki!!
Thanks for all the great receips!!!
We bought some pecan pie muffin mix at Gatlinburg Tn. and they were sooo good. Thanks for putting the recipe on your website so we can enjoy some more of them.
Can it be made into a cake instead of muffins?
PECAN PIE MUFFINS WERE GREAT. I USED FOIL LINERS & SPRAYED THEM. CAME OUT GREAT! PERFECT FOR THE HOLIDAYS AND ANY TIME.
So glad to hear that you liked them Barb!!!
Christy do these freeze well?
Christy, so you do not need to use baking powder or soda in these muffins ,right ???
Can you use Self-Rising Flour ? This is usually all I ever use…..
They look and sound delicious…..
I baked these early one morning for a group of women who were coming over for coffee. The smell throughout the house smelled wonderful. I had to put them away until my friends arrived because my husband and daughter couldn’t stay out of them. I thought there would be leftovers for them but there wasn’t. I had to bake some more the next morning for my family. These are so easy and delicious and oh so perfect if you want that little taste of pecan pie in a muffin form.
My favorite muffin on earth! Yum. I even tripled the recipe and made a coffee cake! I used butter spray and it gave the outside a little bit of a crispy texture, Christy, don’t ever give back that cookbook (sorry Christy’s Mom, but, we don’t want to miss a thing.) Merry Christmas ya’ll.
Shhh, she doesn’t know it yet but it is here to stay!! 😉
How many muffins does it make? I am trying to figure out the size of the muffin pan. 12??? more?? Thank you for your reply.
Hey! I put on the recipe card at the bottom that this recipe makes 9 muffins. Those are full size muffins so I use a 12 cup muffin pan. You would get 18-20 with a mini muffin pan.
I love everything “pecan” and these sound delicious. If I want to make the batter into cake squares/bars, what size pan is best for this recipe? Should I bake it longer til the center is done?
Thanks!
Judy
P.S. I have this great vanilla Greek yogurt so a warm pecan cake square with a dallop of yogurt and a few chopped pecans for garnish sounds heavenly!!!!
I have never done it that way. They are a little tricky to get done in the muffin tins so I would be hesitant to try it. IF I were to attempt it I would start by lowering the temperature by 20-25 degrees and extending the cooking time. It is going to take some trial and error on your part to get it right. Since I haven’t tried it I am afraid I can’t be of much help.
Christy, can you make faux pecan pie muffins using the pretzels like in the pie? What do you think?
Cyndy
I’m wondering if it would be okay to double or triple the recipe…
Absolutely! 🙂 Especially if you’re bringing me a batch 😉
Bless you girl! I am so glad you brought this back, my favorite muffin on earth.
🙂 you sure do have good taste Pamela!!
LOVE the green pyrex bowl!! Love the pecan pie muffins, too.
Thank you Brenda!!
Yummy, Yummy!! I love this recipe! Will make them soon.
I am a list person. I have done the same thing as your Mama, writing down every gift, right down to the stocking stuffers for years! It makes me wonder if my sons ever saw it. They are in their twenties now. I already have started my list for this year. (for the last few years I have had my daughter-in-law added to the list!) SOON TO BE A GRANDBABY ADDED!!!!!
I know that your dear, sweet Mama’s book with recipes is a treasure. My Mother-in-law of 36 years passed away two weeks ago. In all of these years, I never realized that she had kept a recipe file. She was never one to try a lot of new recipes. She never bought cookbooks. (That is a BIG hobby of mine!) She was a great cook, but had not cooked much for years, after my father-in-law passed away. How surprised I was to find one, the day after she passed away. I love to have recipes in the handwriting of my loved ones. This is a treasure to me. I have many recipes handwritten by my Mom. Best of all- I still have my Mom. She is an excellent cook!
Always love your recipes and stories. What a gift and blessing you are.
Love and blessings to you and your family. (I loved your staycation!!)
Pam, you always make me smile! Thank you so much, I hope you get the chance to try the muffins soon!! Congratulations on the upcoming grand baby!! I know you have to be over the moon excited!! Love and blessings to you!
Wow this recipe could not come at a better time. I just bought a new muffin tin yesterday and was wondering what I could make in it. So I just made them and they are so good. I did not have any pecans so I used chopped walnuts instead. Thanks for sending me this recipe!
What a wonderful way to break in your new pan!! I am so glad you liked the muffins and hope you have a blessed day!!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I love ❤️ pecans and pecan pie. I can almost smell those muffins baking now. Thanks Christy
I hope you get the chance to try them soon Patty!! Your house is going to smell fabulous!!
I can’t seem to ever get your recipes to print anymore. Is it just me and my printer or is anybody else having trouble too? I love you and your recipes! Have a blessed day!
Hey Jan! I hear about people having this problem from time to time (It’s rare, thankfully) and usually when they update their browser that fixed it. I haven’t changed anything on my end and I hate that you are having a problem. I would try updating your browser if at all possible and if that fixes it, please report back.
Thanks! I’ll see what I can do to fix it. I miss printing them when I see a good one. If all else fails I have your cookbooks to get some great ideas……maybe Mom will let you publish hers???? Lol
Please let me know if you figure out what the problem is. I haven’t changed anything on the site but I’m hearing from a handful of people with this problem and I’d love to be able to tell them how to fix it 🙂
Why can I not print on my iPad anymore?
Love this site.
Hey Wanda! Thank you so much and I’m sorry you’re having problems! I haven’t changed anything at all on the site. I sure wish I could tinker with your ipad and figure it out so I would know. I believe I’d start with seeing if there is an update and install that to see if it helps. Oftentimes Safari (the ipad browser) causes issues but an update fixes it. If you can figure out what it is, please let me know so I have more information. Thank you!
Well there goes my Pecans. I just bought a pound of Pecans $10.00 for some pecan bars and now they will go into my muffins. Will take them to the family Thanksgiving dinner at my grandson house. Will also make copy’s of the recipe to put on the table. Before this Texan moved to Ohio my kids would step on Pecans on their way to school. Oh what I would give to have my own Pecan Tree. I do miss Texas and my Pecans.
They really have gotten so expensive!! I hope you enjoy the muffins though!
I made these as mini muffins for our appetizer party last weekend. They were a hit! Fortunately I had doubled the recipe so we had plenty. And I WILL be making them again…soon!! Thank you, Christy, for always posting tasty recipes, good stories, and for such a great website. You are my go-to for cooking inspiration, as well as daily encouragement. Have a blessed Christmas.
Thank you so much Becky, I am so glad to hear that they were a hit!! I hope you have a blessed Christmas as well!
Think bananas can be added to this? I have some that need to be used up.
My Mother was also a staunch note taker and she loved to cook, so when I inherited her cookbooks, I was ecstatic. ONE BIG PROBLEM ~ My Mother knew Gregg’s Shorthand and so all the notes are in these scribbles that I just can’t decipher 🙁 I even found a Gregg’s Shorthand book, but each person has their own style and so it is not easy to try and read her notes, but sometimes it gives me a good laugh. I don’t think there is anyone else who does shorthand anymore, so it is a lost art.