Pecan Pie Cupcakes
Imagine a treat that’s a dream come true for pie and cake lovers: our Pecan Pie Cupcakes are just that, with their tender, moist base stuffed with a gooey homemade pecan pie filling. Topped with luscious buttercream frosting, they’re the perfect soft and sweet addition to your Thanksgiving spread.
The holidays are the perfect time of year to bake new things. And these delicious cupcakes are filled with gooey pecan filling, so they look and taste like genuine pecan pie. These decadent cupcakes will put ordinary cupcakes to shame. The filling and frosting make them taste incredible!
If you know a pecan pie lover, make them these cupcakes. One bite, and they’ll be asking you to bake them repeatedly! The best part is the gooey pecan pie filling in the center of each cupcake. That filling is rich, sweet, and made without corn syrup.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect dessert for the holiday season. Pecan pies are a traditional holiday dessert.
- Shows off well. These are the best cupcakes to serve at parties.
- Easy Thanksgiving desserts. They are already individually portioned, so people can grab their own without being served.
Ingredients
The cupcakes, filling, and frosting are all made with simple ingredients. The exact amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Flour: Use your favorite type of all-purpose flour as the base of the cupcake.
- Granulated Sugar: This sweetens the cupcakes perfectly.
- Cinnamon: This adds the perfect amount of spice to the cupcakes.
- Baking Powder: It gives the cupcakes the airy and delicate texture you love.
- Baking Soda: This helps the cupcakes rise.
- Salt: Just a little bit will enhance all the flavors.
- Eggs: These are the emulsifiers that hold all the ingredients together.
- Milk: Use your favorite kind of milk to make the cupcakes moist.
- Vegetable Oil: This makes the cupcakes moist too.
- Vanilla Extract: This is important because it gives the cupcakes a deeper flavor.
For the Filling
- Brown Sugar: This gives the filling a caramelized flavor.
- Honey: This is a healthy sweetener that also makes the filling sticky.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter to make the filling less salty.
- Chopped Pecans: Use a food processor to chop them into small pieces.
For the Frosting
- Butter: Use sweet cream unsalted butter for the frosting.
- Powdered Sugar: This will make the frosting extra fluffy.
- Vanilla Extract: This gives the frosting a deeper flavor.
How to Make Pecan Pie Cupcakes
Follow along to learn how to make pecan pie cupcakes!
- Step One: Preheat the oven to 350℉—place cupcake liners in a muffin tin and set aside.
- Step Two: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, vegetable oil, milk and vanilla.
- Step Three: Add the dry ingredients – the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – until combined.
- Step Four: Fill each liner 3⁄4 of the way with batter. Bake at 350℉ for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Step Five: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, honey, and butter. Stir until butter is melted and brown sugar is dissolved, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in chopped pecans.
- Step Six: Use a cupcake corer to remove the middle of the cupcakes. Fill each hole with pecan mixture.
- Step Seven: In a medium bowl, cream together butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Pipe on frosting or spread on with a knife.
What to Serve with Them
These homemade pecan pie cupcakes are the perfect dessert. Here are some more desserts you can serve with them.
Variations and Substitutions
- You can use canned pecan pie filling, but we highly recommend making it yourself; it’s easy and only takes a few minutes.
- You can also use corn syrup or maple syrup in place of honey. However, honey is the healthier option.
- Use toasted pecans for a deeper flavor.
- Use pie crust instead of making homemade cupcakes.
- Fill the cupcakes with Bourbon pecan pie filling.
Storage Instructions
Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
You can freeze these cupcakes – just ensure you freeze them without the frosting. They will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to come to room temperature before eating.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- If you don’t have a cupcake corer, you can make your holes using a piping tip with a large opening.
- If you are short on time or ingredients, you can make these cupcakes with a boxed mix; follow the instructions, then add the pecan filling and frosting.
- Garnish your cupcakes with regular pecans, toasted pecans, or candied pecans.
Other Frosting Flavors
It’s straightforward to change the flavor of the buttercream frosting – add a different flavor of extract.
Here are some more delicious homemade frostings that will taste amazing on the cupcakes:
- Brown sugar frosting
- Butter pecan frosting
- Cream cheese frosting
Pecan Desserts
Want to make more pecan desserts at home? Here are some of my favorites:
- Pecan Pie Balls
- Air Fryer Candied Pecans
- Chocolate Pecan Pie
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake
- Pecan Butter Tarts
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Pecan Pie Cupcakes
SAVE THIS RECIPE!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tbsp salted butter
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Frosting
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Place cupcake liners in a muffin tin and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, vegetable oil, milk and vanilla.
- Slowly add in flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
- Fill each liner 3⁄4 of the way with batter. Bake at 350℉ for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat combine brown sugar, honey and butter. Stir until butter is melted and brown sugar is dissolved, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in chopped pecans.
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the middle of the cupcakes. Fill each hole with pecan mixture.
- In a medium bowl cream together butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Pipe on frosting or spread on with a knife.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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