This Walnut Chocolate Pie is basically caramel-coated nuts in a chocolate-lined crust. It's good on its own and sheer perfection with whipped or ice cream.
Yield: 1 9-inch pie; about 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 9-inch pie crust (buy one or use this pie crust recipe)
- 8 oz. dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (dark or light)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. whiskey or bourbon (optional)
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Lay walnuts on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, 5 to 10 minutes. Watch them very carefully. Walnuts go from toasted to burnt in a snap and this is a lot of walnuts. Let them cool. (Alternatively, you can toast them in a large frying pan over medium-high heat watching constantly and stirring frequently for 5 to 10 minutes.)
- Roll out crust and place it in a pie pan if you've made your own. Oil or butter the shiny side of a piece of foil and place it, oiled side down, on the pie crust. Fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake 15 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate over the bottom - it will melt slightly and fully melt when you add the rest of the filling. Let cool a bit.
- While pie crust bakes, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the syrup, sugar, cream, and salt. Stir until the sugar completely dissolves. Take off the heat and let cool to at least a warm room temperature. Stir in cooled off walnuts. Pour into partially-baked pie crust, place pie pan on a baking sheet (to save your oven in case it bubbles over), and bake until the entire filling is bubbling vigorously – and that includes the very middle of the pie, about 40 minutes.
- Let cool until set before serving.
